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We have an updated look at another batch of heavy New Zealand rum from Line 44. This stuff is begging the question; is this the next Caroni among independent bottlers? It is available bulk! And I can connect you. Last year, they were moving into a new facility with a retort pot still and now they are settled in. The quality of the unique ferments has been maintained in the new facility.
The ferments at Line 44 feature a fission yeast partnered with aroma producing Geotrichum yeast. Fission yeasts just entered the Jamaica GI, no doubt due to the research presented on this blog, and the Line 44 rum exemplifies their potential. Aroma producing yeasts like Geotrichum are best described by Rafael Arroyo in Studies on Rum and barely exist anywhere else in the literature. There are murmurs of them in the 19th century writings and Arroyo was likely led to them by globe trotting old timers (Not Burton specifically, but that kind of guy). No one else has brought the lore of heritage rum production to life like Line 44.
The fractions of this extraordinary rum were a little challenging to evaluate. Even though I put lids on all the nosing glasses, aroma was climbing out! I was wondering if I should move the 5th fraction into another room to keep it’s bias away from the others. I have not felt such a need with other spirits. This is a radiant rum.
My descriptions are still right inline with the last batch. This is more of a smart ester rum rather than a high ester rum. It has exuberant high value esters without all the glueyness of excessive ethyl acetate. The persistence is killer and it easily stretches 1:350+ with the exhaustive test. At 30% ABV, there is a floral concentration of esters and radiance. You also get a sense of a unique ester tone relative to Jamaica rum.
[We (re)pioneer, not just of Arroyo’s fermentation techniques, but also his analysis techniques with the reintroduction of the birectifier. We have also reintroduced lost tools like spirit bubbles into our everyday analysis.]
30% ABV white bubble test: There is a floral concentration and a radiance. The esters have a unique tone as compared to a Jamaica rum. No flaws become apparent. This is a well made heavy rum!
Exhaustive test: 1:350+
Ester increase test: This test as I practiced it is still imperfect and may have most benefit for looking at oaked spirits. I added 2.0 ml of fraction 1 to 20.0 ml of original spirit then used a spirit bubble to cut that to 50% ABV. It handled the esters, but was not exactly better or worse in any clear way. The theory here is that increasing esters may enflame other character like oak or possibly other character we do not yet understand.
Fraction 1: Not overly concentrated to the point of non-culinary aromas. Generically fruity. Not clear there is any aroma but ethyl acetate. (Upon a second day of sitting around, there may be extra aroma, a focused fruitiness, but I’m not sure what it would be.)
Fraction 2: A diminutive version of fraction 1 as expected.
Fraction 3: Very neutral as expected.
Fraction 4: Detectable fusel oil, but below average as consistent with a fission yeast. No additional aroma such as an early fraction 5.
Fraction 5: Very louched and covered in oil droplets. Radiant & estery and climbing out of the glass! Sometimes extremely concentrated esters feel floral and that is certainly there but there also appears to be a fruitiness underneath the floral concentration. Overall concentration feels like many other spirits but then there is an extra quality climbing at you…
Fraction 6: Significant oil droplets on the surface. Faint radiant aroma and a sweaty aroma not seen in fractions 7,8. Estery! like a continuation of fraction 5. There is a difference between the aroma in the nosing glass and that of the sample in volumetric flask and the difference is likely due to the oil droplets remaining in the flask. The nosing glass does not have the sweatiness. This implies the oil is likely an insoluble free fatty acid? Possibly more detectable gustatory acidity than fractions 7,8?
Fraction 7: Faint radiant aroma. No off aroma. No significant gustatory acidity.
Fraction 8: Redundant with fraction 7. Faint radiant aroma. No off aroma. No significant gustatory acidity.
Stillage: Fairly neutral and well exhausted.
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