Transcontinental Rum Line Mauritius 3 (2017) La Maison & Velier

Review by: Raygun

A quick note before anything else for the sake of transparency. This review was done with an industry sample provided free of charge, with no expectations beyond drinking them. As always, I do my best to provide my unbiased opinion, and readers can decide how they want to take this review. For more information, see our Ethics & Transparency statement.

The Transcontinental Rum Line is a series of bottlings that, according to LM&V, aims to showcase the diversity of rum production around the world. The line consists of rums from seven countries and one blended rum from three countries. The Mauritius entry is a column still molasses rum. Reviewed from a sample. Rested about 15 minutes.

Distillery: Grays

Bottler: La Maison & Velier

Region/style: Mauritian column still molasses rum

ABV: 50% 

Age: 3 years in Mauritius  

Cask type: New American oak

Color: 1.6 mahogany. Natural color and free of additives.

Price: Around $50

Nose: The new oak influence is pretty heavy, with vanilla and root beer. There’s some spice, clove in particular. Very bourbon-like, but an earthiness shows that it’s still rum.    

Palate: Much like the nose. Heavy on the vanilla and root beer. There’s an herbaceous touch of some kind which again distinguishes it from bourbon. A hint of lime as well. Pretty rich, even at 50%.    

Finish: Vanilla and yes, root beer. Clove is back and so is the herbaceous flavor. Allspice. Similar to the palate overall.    

Conclusion: This is more my speed. I wasn’t sure how the new oak maturation would go. Turned out fine. It is pretty close to bourbon and I imagine would be very approachable for bourbon drinkers. Or anyone who likes root beer, because it really does taste a lot like it. Nice spice and herbaceous aspects. Good price, too. The value is definitely there.

Score: 79

Scoring Legend:

  • 95-100: As good as it gets. Jaw-dropping, eye-widening, unforgettable.
  • 90-94: Sublime, a personal favorite in its category.
  • 85-89: Excellent, a standout dram.
  • 80-84: Quite good. Quality stuff.
  • 75-79: Decent rum worth tasting.
  • 70-74: Meh. It’s definitely drinkable, but it can do better.
  • 60-69: Not so good. I might not turn down a glass if I needed a drink.
  • 50-59: Save it for mixing.
  • 0-49: Blech.

Published by Raygun

Unknown's avatar

I drank Scotch occasionally (mostly at family gatherings) for years, but started getting more interested after an introduction and tasting from a Scottish acquaintance. That led to buying my first bottle (Highland Park 12). Now 600+ spirits later, Scotch is still my first love, but I drink other whisky and dabble in brandy as well.

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