Circles & Squares – Malecon Rare Proof

Acutally, I am presenting two different spirits to you today. Just like the original Vieux Carré, I used a split base. Yet, instead of rye and cognac, I went with rum and a barrel aged raspberry eau de vie instead.

Malecon bottles their rum for their ’Rare Proof’ series at a slightly higher ABV. In case of the 2014 vintage, the rum does not come as an overproof bottling, but with 43,2 %. The Malecon rums are molasses based and distilled on a single column still. On top of that, the 2014 bottling uses ex-bourbon barrels.

Nice and easy rum

Interestingly enough, Malecon rum has a very distinct ‘distillery note’ in the taste. It reminds me of burned sugarcane, molasses and vanilla. This is also the case with the 2014 Rare Proof. You notice a certain sweetness, but this is ok for me at this price point. All in all, this is a pleasant rum which is also very suitable for mixing.

PX cask eau de vie

I paired the Malecon rum with a PX cask aged raspberry eau de vie from Lantenhammer. For their barrel aged series, Lantenhammer take a variety of different casks and match them to fruit brandies. The raspberry one shows clear flavours of the fruit in combination with certain grassy notes. This made it an ideal match for the rum and its sugarcane taste.

Yes, the rum and especially the raspberry eau de vie take the drink in quite a different direction. Nevertheless, the basic characteristics of the original Vieux Carré are still there. All in all, the drink is way fruitier and also a bit more complex. The optional pepper essence just adds a bit of spice to the mix.

*The fact that I received a product reviewed in this article for free, did not – in any way – influence the rating of said product. The rum was provided by Bremer Spirituosen Contor and the eau de vie by Lantenhammer.