I like to drink Chateau du Breuil Rum Explorer Trinidad 3/5 Ans out of a small yellow and orange glass I picked up in Mdina, Malta. It’s my favorite glass and the light gold color of the Rum looks like it melts into the bottom. Mdina is known for its glasswork, and while most people associate Trinidad with Angostura bitters, the country and the distillery also happen to make a hell of a Rum.
Angostura is the only distillery in Trinidad and the Rums have a fermentation process all their own. Furthermore, they still use yeasts developed by Robert Siegert in 1949.
Distilled by Angostura, but imported, refined and bottled by Chateau du Breuil, Rum Explorer Trinidad manages to walk the tightrope between bright and deep, using each temperament to elevate the other. It’s a highly acrobatic maneuver and one that speaks to attention to quality and craft.
Chateau du Breuil’s Cellar Master refines the Angostura Rum first in Madeira casks, which harmonizes the flavors and brings density and aromatic power, and then in ex-Bourbon casks, which softens the Rum. The result is simply one of the finest Rums we’ve ever sipped.
The explorer is an excellent analogy for this Rum. It manages to blend Trinidadian, French, Portuguese, and American spirit traditions into one. It does this with surprising ease and nothing feels out of place, an obvious credit to the Cellar Master. It is fruit-forward and floral on the nose with notes of cocoa lingering in the background. The palate is soft and supple with flavors of coconut and chocolate weaving seamlessly with bright orange. The finish is brisk, but energetic, encouraging another sip.
Chateau du Breuil Rum Explorer Trinidad 3/5 Ans is exciting, and more than just a flash in the pan. A true elegance can be found in its balance between lightness and weight. If you’re not much of a Rum person, but are willing to give another a go due to the spirit’s current spike in popularity, then we recommend you give this one a try. You might just change your mind.
