Bira Venezuela & Marie-Galante Rum Review

Whenever Karl Mudzamba, owner of independent bottler Bira, tells you he’s bringing new rum releases to the Canadian market, you listen. First, because he used to be a pro rugby player. Next to that very relevant fact, he’s released nothing but interesting rum so far. His Fiji and Mhoba expressions were wonderful. Next up, Marie-Galante and Venezuela. One makes me go “yeah!”, the other “yeah?”.

Marie-Galante is a small island that lies in between Guadeloupe and Dominica. It was given its name by Christopher Columbus in 1493. The island is more commonly known as la grande galette (‘the Big Biscuit’) due to its round shape and almost flat surface. It is one of the dependencies of Guadeloupe, an overseas department of France. Flanked by the Atlantic Ocean on one side and the Caribbean Sea on the other, it’s only 158 square kilometers in size and houses around 10000 people.  Sugarcane was cultivated in Guadeloupe from 1654 by deported Brazilian colonists who created the first sugar plantations equipped with small ox-powered mills to crush the cane. During the second half of the 17th century, the first enslaved people were brought from Africa to Marie-Galante to cultivate plantations. Dutch exiles from Brazil also settled, bringing new methods for the cultivation of cane sugar.

Rum wise, Bielle and Habitation Bellevue are well known distilleries in rum enthusiast circles. Bira’s Marie-Galante release comes from Distillerie Poisson, better known as Père Labat. A cane juice rum, distilled on a column in 2017 and aged in France for six years in ex cognac barrels. 1944 bottles at 59%. The Venezuelan rum originates at Sofa distillery, known for Santa Teresa. A molasses rum, distilled on a column in 2007 and aged in Venezuela for 15 years in ex bourbon barrels. Bottled at a whopping 62%, resulting in a total output of 1282 bottles.

These two are pretty much opposites and the Venezuelan rum is very different from what Bira has bottled up to now. So I asked Karl why he picked these two:”They are quite different from what we have bottled previously. That was one of the main attractions. They are a lot more approachable to a wider audience than what we have bottled to date.”

Tasting time!

The disclaimer part: Karl sent me a bottle of each, to my surprise. Very generous. I will share them with various rum people and bars in Toronto.

Nosing

Bira Marie-Galante 6yr

Grassy, earthy, pine, oak, red fruits, very fruity, pencil shavings, hint of mint, apple, light orange.

Bira Venezuela 15yr

When I first opened the bottle and poured some in a glass I smelt nothing! This one needs air badly. It’s pretty hot. Oak, faint paint, candle wax, damp oak is strong, wet cardboard, light marzipan, slightly fruity, molasses, light anise. Oak is dominating somewhat and you do have to look for things behind that oaky curtain. Slightly better with a bit of water, as it lowers the alcohol vapour somewhat, like opening the curtain a bit. Doesn’t give me a lot more to smell, but things become slightly more obvious.

Tasting

Bira Marie-Galante 6yr

Velvet texture. Grassy, oak, light cognac, menthol, very fruity, banana, red fruits, light pineapple, apple, minerally and slightly briney.

Finish has a decent length with a nice combination of oak spice and fruit. Ends pretty dry without bitterness. Great sipper and I think it will do well in cocktails too. Drinks below its abv somewhat.

Bira Venezuela 15yr

Very light profile. Oak is the most obvious, some vanilla, caramel, bit of coconut which brings some sweetness. Hot and spicy. Thin. Better with some water. Licorice, caramel, vanilla, a little fruit…easy going. Finish is short and fairly unremarkable with some oak and vanilla.

Conclusion

I don’t think I’ve ever opened a bottle, poured some of its rum in a glass, let it sit for a bit, to then smell nothing. That’s exactly what happened with the Bira Venezuela. I was telling myself I was going crazy, finally. However, I could smell the Marie-Galante in the other glass. I grabbed a new glass and poured some more Venezuela. Same. You might not be surprised to hear that the comments in my first tasting session with this rum were fairly brutal.

However, I let that bottle sit in my cabinet for a few weeks and tried again, using the same glass. Aha! Much different this time. I could smell things! It’s a stingy rum that needs a lot of air before it starts giving. Adding a bit of water helps to get rid of the alcohol burn and to open it up a little. In the end it still didn’t impress me much. It’s hot, pretty thin and not very complex. Probably good for a cocktail where you want to add oak, vanilla, strength and not a lot of other flavours. It also makes a darn good rum n coke (for the high rollers out there). Flavour profile wise it’s leaning in the direction of Panama, Belize, Barbados. But I feel they all do it better.

When I let my partner try it she said:”I like it. Not too woody and very approachable”. I think she was on to something. Remember Karl saying he wanted to bottle a rum that’s more approachable?! We all know there is a market for this flavour profile. The only thing I’m wondering is if that rum drinker will want to pay 15 year tropical cask strength money, especially in Canada. I hope so, as I’d like Karl to do well. Something I mentioned in my review of Venezuelan rums from Holmes Cay and Raising Glasses was:”if someone is getting into cask strength rums from drinking sweetened rum, these might be a good choice. It could ease them into this new part of the rum journey with flavours that are familiar.” I think the same could apply here.

There is another little twist to this story. I brought both expressions to a well known rum bar & restaurant in Toronto called Little Sister. The two gentlemen that I had the pleasure of sharing a meal with are both experienced rum drinkers. They liked the Venezuela more than I did and said it was balanced and approachable. Easy drinking. I don’t disagree with this, once you get past the hotness. I can see myself enjoying this on an evening where I don’t want to deal with 23 different flavours dancing on my tongue, trying to convince me who’s the dominating force amongst them. One thing I have to add is that we were drinking this from large wine glasses. On the nose that actually worked a lot better than a Glencairn. Only with the Venezuelan rum though, not with Marie-Galante.

Where things went a little off the rails is when we switched to Bira Marie-Galante. Maybe we should have started with it instead. Both my esteemed table guests mentioned it was boozier than Venezuela, more alcohol on nose and palate. I disagree with this very much. I think what they are experiencing is the difference in age between the two. 15 vs 6 years and tropical vs continental. Marie-Galante does have a bite, as it’s young. That’s fairly normal. But Venezuela is definitely hotter. Comparing two such different rums is not easy of course.

Bira Marie-Galante is a lot more up my alley. A very grassy and fruity rum with a somewhat velvet texture. I’m assuming the ex cognac barrel has helped in pumping up the fruit levels on this one. It’s a wonderful sipper that would do well in cocktails as well imho. It drinks below its abv and is a no brainer to me for anyone who wants to get into cane juice rum, while even the more veteran rhum drinkers will enjoy it. Good stuff from Bira once again.

Scores

Bira Marie-Galante 6yr – 86

Bira Venezuela 15yr – 72

Click here for info on the scoring method.

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