Planteray Extreme Series VI Tasting with Alexandre Gabriel
Thursday night saw me back at Rhum Tavern for another evening of Rum with Marcos and Dwight from the Real Rum Experience, this time for a rare opportunity to taste the full line up of the new “Legends of Rum” series.
Daiquiri in hand we settled in to listen to Alexandre Gabriel (the owner and Master Blender of Maison Ferrand and Stade’s West Indies Rum Distillery) share his personal experiences and opinions on the world of rum; and it’s importance across history, science and society. He said there are three things he loves most about rum: the people, the depth of knowledge, and the diversity. Those three ideas ran through the whole evening with the series itself an attempt to showcase rums and regions in a way we haven’t really seen before. Having now tasted it, I’d say that’s mission accomplished.
What really stayed with me is that this isn’t really a series about rum, or at least not only about the rum. It’s a journey through the people who taught Alexandre what he knows, and a way of paying homage to them and saying thank you.
Hearing him talk about his relationships with these legends was funny, touching and honest, often all in the same story. At one point he said, “In your life there are people who you remember and that change you.” You could tell he meant it, and that each bottle in the line-up carries a particular person and significance for him.
The six rums come from Haiti, Barbados, Fiji, Jamaica, Belize and Saint Lucia. I won’t go through every pour in detail, but I want to mention each one alongside the person it honours.
We started in Haiti, with a rum honouring Thierry Gardene. It’s a 20 year old cane juice rum, with a delicious gingerbread and dark chocolate profile.
Next was Saint Lucia, for Laurie Barnard. This was my favourite of the evening, and I’ll be reviewing it on the blog soon.
Belize followed for Romel Perdomo. A beautiful rum, very full bodied, with a lot of evolving flavours that kept changing in the glass.
Barbados was for Henderson “Digger” Skinner. As Digger said, “the rum has to be rummin’”, and this definitely is.
Fiji was a tribute to Mike and Soneel. It’s as much a room divider as ever, but the bold, heavy profile is unapologetically Fiji, and I mean that as a compliment.
We finished in Jamaica, with a rum honouring Vivian Wisdom. At 27 years old and 536g/hLAA of esters, the quality of this rum is undeniable.
I really appreciated how open and honest Alexandre was about everything he was asked. He spoke about the move from Plantation to Planteray, from where the name originally came through to where the brand is today.
The original name came from how prominent the word was at the time. It was only years later that the stigma attached to it, starting to overshadow the love behind it. Alexandre spoke of how he didn’t want the brand to be associated with that hurt and hate. It was a thoughtful and candid explanation, and I think the room appreciated hearing it first-hand.
He was just as open when I asked what he wants his legacy to be. Choosing to focus not on himself but instead on Mr Fogg, who did so much for the Navy rum legacy. A man that never did it with a legacy in mind, but has rightfully earned one… and it was heartwarming to hear Alexandre speak about him that way.
Alexandre then reached for the saying “you don’t own a farm, you tend a farm”. He doesn’t need to be remembered himself. What matters to him is that people remember what others did, and that the work carries on after them.
It was a fantastic evening, and Alexandre had everyone’s attention from start to finish. Naturally, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to pick up a bottle of the Saint Lucia.
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