Saint Lucia
43%
£38
Single Blended Rum: A blend of pot still and traditional column still from a single distillery.
ABV Hydrometer Test: 43% ABV @ 20°
* B
Kicking off 2021 in style with a new rum from Saint Lucia:
Chairman’s Reserve Legacy.
Legacy is the result of the vision of Mr. Laurie Barnard, who as Chairman of Saint Lucia Distillers (SLD) in 1994, had a vision of creating Saint Lucian rums for the world, not solely based on column-still molasses, but through the blending of different types of stills and even the use of sugar-cane rums (agricole-style). Fast forward 27 years to 2021 and we have “Legacy” that features a blend of two of the three pot stills at SLD along with a sugar-cane-distilled element using SLD’s very own sugar-cane grown in Roseau on Saint Lucia. And thus, Legacy is born, in tribute to Laurie’s foresight for SLD.
The wonderful thing about proper distillers is that they are rightly proud of their production methods and are happy to share everything about them, being completely honest and transparent. As a result, we have very detailed knowledge about what has gone into Legacy and from which of their stills, which is as follows.
1 Pot Still “John Dore 2”, molasses, aged 7 1/2 years.
2 Pot Still “John Dore 1”, sugar-cane, aged 5 years.
3 Coffey Still, molasses, aged 5 1/2 years.
4 Pot Still “Vendôme”, molasses, aged 5 1/2 years.
Thanks to the good people at Spiribam and UK Chairman’s Reserve Brand Ambassador Dave Marsland aka #Drinksenthusiast @DrinksEnthusist, I have received a sample set of each of the above components of the Legacy blend, which does give an insight into the art of blending. A few extra drops of either component can add some extra spice or bitterness or a bit more fruitiness, maybe some fresh grassiness – it is fascinating!
Each batch has been tropically aged in ex-Bourbon barrels,
for between five and eight years.
Chairman’s Reserve Legacy is a Single Blended Rum:
A blend of pot still and traditional column still.
Bottle/Presentation 3/3
Legacy is housed in an outer-box adorned with a black and white drawing of founder Laurie Barnard. There is SLD’s familiar logo sporting Saint Lucia’s famous twin peaks, The Pitons. The rear of the box has info about Laurie and the concept of creating Chairman’s Reserve Legacy. There are also some tasting notes. The bottle is the familiar Chairman’s Reserve style – slightly squat. The labels replicate the outer-box.
Glass/Aroma 8/10
A rich, medium amber in colour, with golden hues on the surface. The aromas have power – even from a distance, I can nose pot still goodness. Dried fruits and caramel aplenty dominate the initial nosing. Underneath is a hint of the grassiness of the sugar-cane element, with chocolate-dipped ripe pineapples.
Taste, Initial-middle 35/40
Light, dry and sweet for the first tasting, clean and smooth. Then follows the flavours – vanilla, pineapple and dried fruits. As Legacy reaches the mid-palate a spicy ginger and black pepper note overtakes the light, delicate entry and is partnered with caramelised fruits.
Taste, Middle/Throat 35/40
With multiple sips, the mid-palate spicy element actually softens and becomes just a warming glow rather than something overpowering. The ginger-laden dried fruits become ever drier and start to induce that tannin-based astringent dry mouthfeel. I am loving Legacy at this point! The pepper lurks beneath and never disappears. The dried fruits return, alongside banana chips and vanilla.
Afterburn/Finish 6/7
Ginger, freshly milled black pepper and capsicum dominate the finish. But this spicy trio is not overpowering as there are some dried fruit notes to balance. The finish is medium in length, becoming ever-drier, with an underlying pastry-like note.
TOTAL 87/100
Overall
From my first tasting of this at the end of 2020, I loved this rum. So much so, I ranked it highly in my Rums of the Year: 2020. Half a bottle later and into January 2021 and I am appreciating Legacy even more. Lots of depth of flavours and body from the pot still rums and plenty of fresh grasiness from the sugarcane juice agricole-style rums.
I think this rum will be one of those mainstay rums at RumShopBoy HQ, meaning I will always have one in stock.
Laurie Barnard would be proud of the Legacy he has left behind.
Saint Lucia Distillers is in safe hands.
Value: 9/10
Superb rum, a great blend between molasses and sugarcane as well as taking advantage of different stills, highlighting the skills of the Master Blender. Whilst there is no official age statement, five to eight year old rums give plenty of character. For £38, this has to be one of the best value rums around.
Flavour Profile:
https://chairmansreserverum.com/
Review No. 166
*
P Denotes the rum contains POT still distillate.
C Denotes the rum contains traditional/Coffey COLUMN still distillate.
B Denotes the rum contains a BLEND of POT and COLUMN still distillate.
M Denotes the rum contains MULTI-COLUMN still distillate or is a MODERN rum.
A Denotes the rum is an AGRICOLE i.e. from Cane Juice.
S Denotes the rum is presented in a SWEETENED style.
Marking Guide:
Bottle/Presentation Out of 3
Glass/Aroma Out of 10
Taste, Initial-middle Out of 40
Taste, Middle/Throat Out of 40
Afterburn/Finish Out of 7
TOTAL 100
RumShopBoy.com 
One thought on “Chairman’s Reserve Legacy”