Chairman’s Reserve 1931 6-12 Years

No, seriously! I couldn't wait anymore, so i finally opened it and am sipping from my precious, right now! Exactly what i expected and what certain charismatic individuals, such as Stefan Persson, already stated... This one is a step above, from the rest in the series! The aroma is to die for, it makes your mind go blank, i couldn't stop sniffing! Stronger too, maybe that 46% did the trick or something! Taste is something else, entirely! The aftertaste lingers for quite some time and fills your mouth with a multitude of flavors. It made me shed tears of joy! This is absolutely my No1 Rum ever and i swear, it is going to remain in that spot forever! The mastermind behind the blend, Evanius Harris (?), is an unparalleled genius. In memory of Denis Barnard, cheers! God bless you!

Just back from 2019’s rumcruise at the Baltic Sea with Birka cruises. Perfect place to test a lot af brands. This one is the follower to the yearly 1931 editions the representant told me. It’s like some of the former editions a blend of distillates from different stills and some agricole as well.
I think it’s better than the former editions that I have tasted.
It’s of course very complex and you can recognise oak, vanilla, tobacco, etc

I really like this one. It says it’s blended from 14 different distillates, but the one that makes this stand out is the agricole blend.

It’s got an earthy, rich flavor that perfectly compliments and enhances what would likely be a fairly standard rum otherwise.

If you hold this in your mouth, there is a bitter citrus note that resolves as soon as you swallow.

That grassy flavor underlies all of the “normal” flavors that you’d expect in a quality rum, and somehow makes the end result more than the sum of its parts.

The long but gentle burn and the honey aftertaste drive this one home. Well worth having a bottle on your shelf.

Nose: Mostly grassy agricole and brown sugar with a mild wood spice.

Palate: Sweet, peppery and vanilla with a hint of citrus sourness.

Finish: long burn, honey and cut grass. Makes you want to take another sip.

I love St. Lucia distillers for its Chairman's line-up in general but this 1931 expression is the jewel in the crown for sure. Pot still, column still and some agricole blended into a very well balanced and complex rum that is easy to drink but has a punch. My bottle is bottled at 46% ABV in 2017 and numbered #007823.

The nose reveals baking spices, pine resin, salted caramel. Floral and grassy notes are also there with a bit of peppermint. In the background there are the typical vanilla and (slightly charred) oaky notes.

On the palate this stuff becomes heavenly; fruits (lychees, napalm orange, raisin), tobacco, dark chocolate with a hint of mocha, slightly roasted almond, freshly cut grasses. Oak, ginger and mocha accompany you to the long and warm finish.

If you like the Chairman's reserve original this is a must try. In all honesty I don't want my rums becoming ever better than this one, wow! Worth every cent and in a way, the end of a quest....

Outstanding stuff here. A top 10 rum for me without question. Strong cinnamon and oak overtones. Molasses and black pepper in the background. Sultana, fig and faint caramel notes too. Not sweet. Nice alcohol bite, very smooth and crisp but immediately fades to velvet sipping pleasure on the pallet. Deep, thick and complex with superb balance. Slightly dry. Great neat or on ice. I prefer this neat. I enjoyed every sip.

Chairmans finest. A blend of colonne distillations aged between 7 and 12 years, 90% melasse based rum, 10% cane juice (agricole).
The aroma is full and complex with notes of raisins, wood, resin, vanilla and tobacco. It has a minty freshnees to it.
The taste is a little bold but still evenhanded and balanced with raisins, subtle caramel, tobacco and rounded wood. Overall a semidry rum with a few tanninc tingles in the persistant finish but it’s all i good order.
Beeing a little disapointed with their forgotten cask, this brought back my faith to chairman’s. It’s an elegant, tasty and interesting rum that still contain that classic st. Lucian soul and taste.

I have been looking forward to sample and review this rum for some time. My previous experience with Chairman’s Reserve rums consist of the “Original” blend (which I did not like), “The Forgotten Casks” (which I enjoyed) and the “1931 3rd edition” (which I did not care for as a result of the 12 g/L of added sugar in the blend).
I however read good reviews on the current 1931 blend and it was time to give Chairman’s Reserve another try.

The presentation with the beautiful decanter style bottle and the colour scheme are very classy and everything points to a quality product. On the nose my initial thought were that it somehow reminded me of the funky smell of Appleton rums, which is not a bad thing. In the glass the colour of the liquid is of a beautiful dark gold. Over the years I have come to appreciated elevated ABV and the 46% ABV of this blend adds to the complexity of this rum and longs the finish. Very very smooth rum with absolutely no burn.

WOW, what a pleasant Sipper this rum is. This rum is an EXCELLENT product which will require that I acquire many more bottles to add to my supply/collection.

Superb!

I made a major effort on a rum running trip to central Florida to finally get my hands on two of these bottles. This first bottle in numbered 7669 and bottled in 2017. My second bottle is numbered 7744 and was also bottled in 2017. I also acquired one bottle of their Legacy on this trip. A week before that, I locally found three bottles of their Forgotten Cask, which was my final inspiration to make this trip. Being fully vaccinated from COVID-19 also helped me to make a run for it.

For this tasting, I lined up these three versions of my Chairman's Reserve in Glencairn glasses neat, all being 3% ABV apart from the next. This one is at 46% ABV, the Legacy is at 43% ABV, and the Forgotten Cask is at 40% ABV. As one would guess with decreasing ABV% the tastings got smoother with each decrease by 3%. Not fair, so then it became, "Here comes the water!" A few drops in each changed everything. The 1931 greatly improved but still had a strong after burn, and the Legacy dropped down to almost the ranking of my Forgotten Cask due to a bitter after taste. I still could not rank the 1931 higher than my top 3 rums, which all happen to be from Dictador.

By the way, this one is comprised of at least 14 different rums with one of them being from sugar cane juice. The Legacy is blended only from four of these same rums. Extensive notes can be found on the gift box, which also serves to protect the bottle from getting broken in transit.

I must thank Pirate from Greece for my initial inspiration to go for these fine rums! And it was well worth the 1300 mile round trip to get two of these bottles, which I will make them last as long as possible.

Milujem rumu zo Sv.Lucie a toto je jeden z najvydarenejších kúskov. Úžasná drevitosti, cítim tam zemitost ako pri niektorých agricole. Nie je ľahký,no fakt skvely

Initial alcohol burn on the nose, initial taste YES! Upon examination this is closer to cask strength at 46%. This rum is a solid contender to other natural rums from Barbados, Jamaica and Trinidad. Medium gold color still has alcohol burn with some nice lingering spice flavors.