Rum from Asia? Is that something new?

Sébastien looked at me and said: ‘It's not new in the least, but what if I told you that rum comes partly from over there?

You can imagine that there was nothing like that to whet my curiosity. And Sébastien gave me a history of this wonderful drink!

A little history and geography lesson 😀

He starts by telling me that, as you might imagine, the history of rum is linked to that of its raw material: sugar cane (grown for thousands of years in Asia).

Sugar cane originated in Papua New Guinea and then spread to India and South-East Asia, where it was cultivated for its sugar.

The Arabs then introduced sugar cane to the Mediterranean in the Middle Ages, and it was cultivated in regions such as Spain and Portugal.

And it was only after the voyages of Christopher Columbus that sugar cane was planted in the Caribbean, where European settlers began distilling rum from the by-products of sugar production.

The first written records of rum distillation in South America date back to the 16th century, when the Spanish introduced their distillation techniques to the island of Hispaniola (now Haiti and the Dominican Republic).

So much for cane. But what about rum in Asia?

Sébastien tells me that the first country to produce rum in Asia was Indonesia. But before that, we have to go back to well before 2000 BC to discover that it was the Chinese who first developed their distillation methods. We then have to go back to 800 BC to find the first rice distillation in this same country. Finally, we can go as far back as 500 AD to discover that the Chinese introduced their molasses distillation method to INDONESIA as part of their commercial development, particularly on Java!

It was then, and much later, in the 12th century, that Marco Polo brought his distillation skills to India, followed by Vasco de Gama in the 15th century for rum.

As for the first official distillery in Asia, we have to look to TANDUAY, founded in 1854. He goes on to explain that, with sugar cane being produced on a fairly large scale in the region, rum production rapidly expanded to Thailand (where we'll be tasting a production here), Vietnam, Cambodia, Java, India, China and even Japan.

By way of example, before telling me about his own rum, he introduces me to various Asian brands:

- In the Philippines, there's TANDUAY, of course, but also the popular DON PAPA;

- In India, there's OLD MONK and TWO INDIES from Amrut (which combines Indian and Caribbean influences);

- In Japan, there's SANTA MARIA from the Lejima brewery in Okinawa, and more recently NINE LEAVES or RYOMA (on the island of Shikoku);

- In China, you'll find VINN rum, TAIZI rum and SAMAI rum (a Cambodian-Chinese brand).

- In Vietnam, should we introduce SAMPAN?

Sébastien tells me with a smile that if you want to find java rums, you should go for a brand called NAGA! That rings a bell!

In fact, I recommend that you discover :

- Naga Java Reserve: born from the fermentation of molasses and red rice bread fermented in teak wood vats, distilled first in Chinese stills then in columns and finally aged for 3 years in teak casks then 4 years in American oak casks (ex bourbon);

- Naga Pearl of Jakarta: produced using the same process and aged for 3 years in teak casks, then 4 years in American oak (ex-bourbon) casks, and finally a further year in cherry casks;

- Naga Spiced Rum Malacca: rum infused with kumquat peel, the flesh of the Indonesian jambu (Java apples), lemongrass and cinnamon.

- Naga Anggur Edition: Limited edition with a passage of Java Reserve spent 2 months in the casks of Château Pas de l'Ane 2018 located in Saint-Emilion. 

He takes the opportunity to tell me that if we're talking about Rhum (in French), Rhum (in English) and Ron (in Spanish), in Java we'll call it Batavia Arrack.

In fact, the name comes from the old name of Jakarta, ‘Batavia’, and ‘Arrack’, which means alcohol. It is its production from molasses fermented with Javanese red rice yeast that will make the difference.

Sébastien then tells me about Thailand, which is very dear to him! Always a good sport, he tells me that you can find the ISSAN and CHALONG BAY brands in Thailand, but that it will be easier to taste their imported production.

We could mention SHAKARA, offered by La Maison du Whisky and aged in the centre of the country for 12 years in bourbon casks in a tropical climate (where the angels' share is estimated at 7 to 9%), but above all the NAGA brand, which will be of primary interest to us here.

One last detail before tasting the new NAGA 12yo, he tells me that there are a number of distilleries in this country.

They will be called CHALONG BAY (in Phuket), ISSAN (located in the north-east) but also SANGSOM (from Thai Beverage Plc) and BANGYIKHAN.

Sébastien tells me that it could be the latter that extracts the juice for his rums!

He tells me that the bottle we're going to taste today completes his range from the Kingdom of Siam (Thailand).

NAGA offers,

- SIAM EDITION 10 YEARS: rum distilled 5 times in columns from Thai sugar cane, and then aged for 10 years in Bourbon casks in Thailand under a tropical climate (with a share of angels from 7 to 9%) recharged by topping up.   

- RESERVE FULL PROOF (offered at 62.3% abv in its 2011 version and 60.1% abv in its 2012 version).

The latest addition is the magnificent SHANI, a 100% molasses rum with a 5-6 day fermentation (à l'anglaise) and distilled 5 times in the distillery's column. The rum is aged for 10 years in Thailand in ex-Bourbon casks before returning to our latitudes to spend a final year in Px casks.

But now Sébastien has finally uncorked the bottle of his new NAGA 12 year old SIAM EDITION, which uses the same design and ageing techniques as its 10 year old brother, but stays in casks for a further 2 years, still using the dynamic topping-up method, in order to give it its vanilla and woody notes.

Sébastien pours me a liquid with an amber colour thanks to the 12 years spent in contact with oak.

The nose of this Thai rum is fairly dry, first revealing notes of vanilla that later become more woody.

On the second pass, woody notes of liquorice and sandalwood take over.

Finally, on the third pass, the notes become spicier, with cinnamon first and then more pronounced spices.

On the palate, we quickly find ourselves in a teak tasting room!

The woody notes are confirmed and even amplified, with hints of toasted wood, walnut, cinnamon and a hint of encaustic at the end. But there are also hints of vanilla.

This is a good example of the exotic woody character of rums from this part of the world.   

The finish is long and marked by roasted and spicy notes. It leaves a long-lasting vanilla aftertaste.

What a wonderful trip to Asia and what a wonderful discovery of rums from elsewhere that Sebastien made for me.

If you'd like to meet him and find out more about his products, I'd recommend a visit to the Dugas Club Expert show in September, where he'll be delighted to welcome you with a smile.

You can also find all his references in your favourite wine shops or directly on the DUGASCLUBEXPERT.FR website.