Engenhos do Norte 970 Reserva 6-Year

Tasted this rum with a good friend that bought it during a trip to the Madeira island.
In Madeira there’s a long tradition of making sugar and rum.
The first Engenho (sugar mill) in Madeira is from 1452 and they closed down the last sugar factory making sugar from sugar cane as late as 1986.
Rum from molasses has been distilled since the early 16th century and the first agricultural rum seems to have been produced in the mid 17th century.

The cane is harvested by hand and crushed from March to May, then the juice is usually fermented for 48 hours and distilled in traditional columns.
Nowadays there’s four distilleries on the island.
The biggest one is Engenhos Do Norte. Established in 1927, and produces this brand among others.
Engenhos da Calheta also has a quite big production, but mostly for the local market.
Engenho Novo is a quite young distillery and the home of William Hinton rum. It was also the last sugar factory that closedown.
The smallest one is the family distillery that produces O Reizinho rum.

Over to the actual rum.
It’s distilled in Barbet copper columns whereafter it’s placed in French oak barrels for at least 6 years before blended, reduced and bottled.
The aromas is sweet, vinous and fruity with notes of tobacco.
In mouth and palate it’s rather soft and I recognize tobacco, pepper and vanilla.
The finish is woody and soft with a tasty mix of vanilla and pepper.
After what I’ve heard is it a very typical traditional Madeira rum.