This is another K&L rum pick, a cask strength, single barrel of rhum agricole from Clement in Martinique. Aged in new American oak, it's on the young side, just shy of four years old.Clement Cask Collection, K&L Pick, Distilled Sept. 1, 2012, 62.5% ($50)
The nose has anise, mint and spices. It smells like MGP rye. On the palate it's piney and herbal with more anise and some cocoa; then it gets that sweet, earthy funk so typical of rhum agricole The finish is sweet and herbal.
This is very tasty and a great rum for whiskey drinkers. Tasting blind, I probably would have guessed that it was an MGP rye. It's also a great deal for a cask strength rhum agricole.
A local store in Atlanta managed to acquire a bottle of this at about the same age (about 3 years 11 months) but sadly elected to bottle it at a relatively weak 88.8 proof. I find some of the same notes in it that you describe but it is a little on the thin side. Apparently this is aged in a new charred (to what degree is unclear to me) American oak barrel which likely helps to give it the whiskey like quality you note. I would much rather have had the BP version though and am hoping to get a sample to try. I tasted mine side by side with the Clement Select Barrel which is around the same edge but an even lower 80 proof. Despite the lower proof I thought it had a more balanced flavor (they have the ability to blend from a variety of barrels) but was certainly less whiskey like.
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