Taste Testing Savanna & HiStranger's Lontan / HERR Blend

It is always a happy occasion when a new bar opens its doors in the city, particularly more so when the bar in question places emphasis on serving some neat, good rums. That bar is HiStranger, whose founders, Bastien and Roomie, are, paradoxically, no strangers to the rum world. Both are known avid rum lovers, with a palate for great liquid, and in fact Bastien himself is responsible for the many fun and unique label designs that adorn the bottles of Swell de Spirits. Thus it was to great excitement when HiStranger opened its doors just in May, bringing with it an array of excellent spirits, particularly in the category of rhum agricoles which Bastien is probably a big fan of.

To celebrate its new beginnings, HiStranger and Rhum Savanna came together to deliver a co-bottling, one that brings with it an element of quirkiness, experimental even, traits that HiStranger is perhaps most relatable with. And the choice of distillery was no coincidence too. In the couple of years past, Savanna has gained a significant following among the ardent high-ester rum lovers, those seeking to explore the most extreme flavours that a rum can provide. With its trademark Lontan, or Grand Arôme, and its High Ester Rum Reunion (HERR) marque, Savanna has captured the imagination of many for its wild-tasting rums that defy the traditional notions of how a rum should taste.

So what makes Savanna’s co-bottling for HiStranger stand apart from the rest? Well, to my knowledge, this bottling stands as probably the very first time we have seen a blend of Savanna’s two high-ester profiles in a single bottle—the Lontan and the HERR, though its exact proportions remain unknown to me. For the uninitiated, the Lontan is a long-fermentation (ten days) molasses rum distilled on Savanna’s historical copper Savalle still, while the HERR goes even further—a molasses rum with a fermentation period of 10-15 days, and importantly distilled on a stainless steel pot still. Aside from that, the microflora responsible for the fermentation of the two styles differ, an important distinction that explains the difference in flavour profiles.

With both marques already packed full of flavour each, it is little wonder why they haven’t been traditionally blended together, except in this extreme circumstance that is an unaged blend of the two, bottled at 59.5% ABV, and only 50 bottles produced.

On to the nose, it was rather interesting at how the two marques melded into each other so well, though I did have an inkling that the Lontan stood out just that little bit more in comparison to the HERR, with a distinct dirtiness that sets it apart when nosed directly alongside a pure HERR. Perhaps the most pronounced was the aroma of rock melons that were clearly on the verge of turning bad; it’s difficult to explain but in the simplest terms it had this sweet, juicy, yet funky nose. And as you reach deeper into rum, you begin to notice a savoury side to it, most distinctive of Lontan which were the green olives dipped in brine, followed by an almost immediate explosion of round, peachy, bubblegum notes that reminded you of the HERR.

The palate was rather surreal from a technical perspective. When you think of blending two very different high-ester marques, you’d imagine that because of its immense layers of flavours, its complexity might have been compromised because of how compact the rum might turn out to be. Yet I found that this rum was very well-balanced, the HERR and Lontan marques both complementing each other perfectly. It started off with the sweet intensity of the HERR, introducing notes of bubblegum and fresh pine needles. But given a moment to open, the rum began to display a slight oiliness with a hint of wood chips. In the finish, interestingly, the texture began to display a hint of dryness, with the most interesting combination of flavours, beginning with a touch of incense smoke, coupled with ripe, juicy red apples, and eventually ending on the Lontan’s signature olives in brine.

This bottling was certainly a masterclass in blending, bringing together two incredibly flavourful marques, yet allowing each to display the best of what it can bring to the table. It even works so well in HiStranger’s signature Naughty Martini, bringing so much complexity and flavour to the cocktail, even with Rum Fire as one of the cocktail’s components. Unfortunately, I believe the bottles have since been sold out. But if you are still hankering for a taste, they are still available at HiStranger by the dram.

Your occasional rum addict!

@weixiang_liu