LMDW’s Artist Series Launches Rum Debut With Martinique's Neisson, Ft Single-Parcel Rhum, Mizunara & Cognac Casks
La Maison du Whisky's Artist Series (not to be confused with the Artist Collective) is the French spirits specialist's flagship annual collection of high-end independent bottlings beloved by spirits collectors.
Since launch in 2011, there's been fifteen editions. Lining all these bottles up on a shelf would make for a nice exhibition in itself as each edition brings us cask strength spirits dressed in commissioned works of different painters, photographers, illustrators or visual artists. Until now, however, the liquid has always been exceptional Scotch single malts.
This year's Artist #16 crosses into rum for the first time, and has handed all five bottles to the iconic Martinican rhum agricole distillery: Neisson.
Neisson's history began around the 1930s when Adrien Neisson bought the Thieubert estate at the coastal village of Le Carbet and planted sugar cane for rhum making. His grandson, Grégory Vernant (whom we've interviewed here!) joined the distillery in 1995, at just the age of 23, and is responsible for leading Neisson into fame with international rum enthusiasts. Today, Grégory continues to lead the distillery.
The Artist #16 x Neisson range presents us 5 bottles that appear like a guided tasting through Neisson's current repertoire. It begins with a rarely-seen 70% ABV single parcel white rhum, then moves through a 30-month-old Oloroso sherry finish, a 6-year-old ex-Bourbon cask expression, a 10-year-old finished in Mizunara oak and an 11-year-old Extra Vieux drawn from an ex-Cognac cask.
Martinican-Canadian artist Johanna Reynaud - also known as Gribouilliz - was given the paintbrush for this year's collection. Her work combines drawing, painting and digital techniques. For the Artist #16, Reynaud decided to go beyond tourist clichés of Martinique, and constructed a fantastic bestiary of arthropods inspired by animals native to Martinique that she felt were overlooked or underloved, from the warty Martinican cane toad, to Neisson-branded poisonous boxfish.
Let's take a closer look at each bottle and the artwork.
Neisson L’Esprit Clos Godinot, 70% ABV
Martinique rhum agricole, single-parcel white rhum, limited edition of 1,000 bottles, LMDW exclusive
The collection begins with high-proof pure white agricole rhum, for which Neisson prides itself on producing some of the best in quality. Clos Godinot is a steep parcel on Martinique’s north-western coast, sitting 245 metres above sea level with a gradient of around 35%. Due to its exposure to abundant sunlight, its cane holds a particularly high sugar content.
Neisson's L’Esprit Clos Godinot puts Clos Godinot cane at the centre of the glass. Neisson is also one of the very few spirit producers that confidently bottles at 70% ABV as a demonstration of its distillation finesse.
From what we could decipher of the graphic, we're guessing Gribouilliz gave this bottle to the crapaud buffle, or cane toad – a fitting choice for a warty Martinican interloper species originally introduced to protect cane fields from insects.
Official Tasting Notes
Colour: Clear / Colorless.
Aroma: Subtle, smooth. An initial floral sequence (peony, peppery rose) first sits alongside scents of fresh sugar cane juice. Upon aeration, a second floral sequence (lily of the valley, jasmine) accentuates the heady character of an aromatic palette also marked by scents of warm cane sugar.
Taste: Both lively and smooth. The palate precisely renders flavors of vesou (fresh cane juice) of remarkable voluptuousness. Gradually, citrus fruits bring plenty of dynamism, while fragrances of vetiver deeply permeate the surrounding atmosphere.
Finish: Long, expansive. Mineral, crystalline, it takes on spicy tones (cardamom, pepper, star anise) whose nobility is matched only by its purity of expression. Medicinal and mentholated, the retro-olfaction travels into increasingly honeyed, lactic (coconut), and exotic (lychee) realms.
Neisson 30 Month 2023 American Oak, Char #3, 51.4% ABV
Char #3 American oak maturation, Oloroso sherry cask finish, limited edition of 285 bottles, LMDW exclusive
Despite the 30-month maturation period which may appear relatively short compared to the other bottles to come, this bottle has gone through maturation in highly active cask types. The rhum first spent 18 months in heavily toasted American oak, followed by another 12 months in an Oloroso sherry cask.
That second cask is said to bring more tobacco, candied fruit, coffee and rancio into the picture, giving the rhum a profile that LMDW likens to Bas-Armagnac brandy.
Zoo de Martinique identifies a crab with a huge blue-purple shell and large claws as the Blue Land Crab. The crab in this artwork is surrounded by a conch shell and flamboyant tropical blooms.
Official Tasting Notes
Colour: Deep old gold.
Aroma: Elegant, slender. Intimately intertwined, scents of toffee, cane sugar, tobacco, and candied fruit (Zante currant, orange) illuminate an extroverted aromatic palette. Upon aeration, heady perfumes (vetiver, geranium) stylishly fill the olfactory space.
Taste: Lively, racy. Bursting with balsamic and mentholated freshness, the palate is also marked by infinitely smooth cane sugar and salted butter caramel flavors. Then, over time, it becomes increasingly fibrous (sugar cane) and liquorice-driven (zan candy).
Finish: Rich, concentrated. Honeyed (lavender), heady (iris concrete), and spicy (cardamom, candied ginger) all at once, it is supported by precious wood and roasted (coffee) flavors. In continuation, the retro-olfaction is empyreumatic (crème brûlée) and delicious (Paris-Brest pastry).
Neisson 6 Year Old 2020 Ex-Bourbon Cask, Char #2, 56% ABV
Char #2 ex-Bourbon cask, limited edition of 240 bottles, LMDW exclusive
The 6-year-old appears to be the most classically framed rhum in the set. This was matured in a medium-char American oak ex-Bourbon cask, bringing out warmer registers of blood orange, dried apricot, cinnamon, roasted mango and chocolate.
For the artwork, we have a cute poisonous boxfish dressed up with colourful corals, seashell, foliage and what appears to be a miniature Neisson catalogue.
Official Tasting Notes
Colour: Orange copper.
Aroma: Full, complex. On the first nose, scents of blood orange, dried apricot, cinnamon, roasted mango, and ginger bring great class to a particularly deep aromatic palette. This then turns chocolaty, balsamic (cypress), and nicely herbaceous (pipe tobacco).
Taste: Lively yet silky. Featuring an exquisite velvety touch, it heightens the sense of fullness that animates the tasting. In addition to the fruits revealed on the nose, it adds vine peaches, Zante currants, and dried fruits (walnut, chestnut). Then, cane sugar gradually coats the taste buds.
Finish: Racy, velvety. Heady (geranium, dahlia), noble-spiced (clove, nutmeg), and preciously woody (sandalwood, stave oak), it propels us into the middle of a sugar cane field swept by a salty sea breeze. In retro-olfaction, flavors of toffee, dried apricot, black liquorice, and linden honey accentuate the lyrical dimension of the finish.
Neisson 10 Year Old 2016 Ex-Bourbon Cask & Mizunara Oak, 51% ABV
Mizunara oak cask finish, limited edition of 250 bottles, LMDW exclusive
Fans of Japanese whisky would invariably take a closer look at this expression. After ageing in American oak, this 10-year-old was finished in a Mizunara, a prized Japanese oak associated with some particularly sought-after whiskies.
Banana, pineapple and mango lead the nose, followed by coconut, pink pepper and the medicinal scent of Tiger Balm.
The featured fauna here appears to be a sugarcane that has been transfigured into a scary-looking purple-and-orange scolopendra, a type of tropical centipede endemic to Martinique.
Official Tasting Notes
Colour: Topaz.
Aroma: Fresh, pulpy. Exotic (banana, pineapple, mango), spicy (pink pepper, clove), milky (coconut), and medicinal (Tiger Balm), the aromatic palette is particularly chiseled and nuanced. Upon aeration, scents of cane sugar, lime, and dried flowers lift it to ever higher heights.
Taste: Fine, supple. A magnificent extension of the nose, it is refreshed by the tangy juice of various citrus fruits (lemon, orange, grapefruit). Delivering the sensation of chewing on a green liquorice stick, it evolves toward more saline, herbaceous, and heady (honeysuckle) registers.
Finish: Long, blossoming. Turning toward the East (rose petal, Turkish delight, date, fig), it allows the simultaneously solar and refreshing character of an increasingly concentrated finish to fully express itself. Gourmand, the retro-olfaction offers up a taste of pistachio cake.
Neisson 11 Year Old 2014 Ex-Cognac Cask, 51% ABV
Cognac cask, Extra Vieux bottled at cask strength, limited edition of 420 bottles, LMDW exclusive
Artist #16 closes with an 11-year-old Extra Vieux aged in an ex-Cognac cask.
This appears to have the darkest and most tertiary profile of the group. We're promised mushrooms, lichen, varnish and wood filler sit alongside chocolate and fruit preserved in eau-de-vie.
Finally, Martinique's official tourism site notes of the matoutou falaise, a Martinican tarantula that actually looks kind of pretty for its deep blue tinge, if not for the fact that a bite would probably require a helicopter evacuation.
Official Tasting Notes
Colour: Orange copper.
Aroma: Rich, heady. Chocolaty, infused (linden blossom, bay leaf), tertiary (mushrooms, lichen), and rancio-tinged (apricot, cherry in eau-de-vie, candied orange and mango), the aromatic palette is extremely concentrated. Upon aeration, aromas of varnish and wood filler underline the nobility of its wood.
Taste: Lively yet generous. At first, flavors of crème brûlée and toasted bread form the perfect link to the nose. Then, coated in a thin layer of salted butter caramel, the taste palette gives voice to numerous tree nuts (almond, pecan, pistachio).
Finish: Deep, balanced. A perfect synthesis of the nose and palate, it proves gently spiced (grated ginger, nutmeg) and praline-tinged. Fibrous and vegetal (sugar cane), the retro-olfaction comes back strongly with the heady, infused notes of the aromatic palette.
Kanpai!
88 Bamboo Editorial Team
