La Maison Du Whisky Rum Saint Lucia (Flag Series) 2004

A rum tasted at Whisky Live Paris in 2025. A full, warm, pastry nose, but with finesse. Herbaceous and pruney too. The first palate is alcoholic and medicinal, but immediately the aromas rise and take their place, pineapple, yellow fruit and cedar wood. The finish is moderately long, then narrows, but the cedar wood remains for a long time. A very fine choice of cask, as is often the case with this series.

It’s a good bottle of rum lets get that out of the way. Good notes, you can tell it was Vendome distilled. However, for my taste, this is not what I want for Vendome. For me, many of the flavors I really enjoy when drinking a Saint Lucia Vendome rum has been dulled too far by the oak. The vanilla comes through a lot on this and the pencil shavings note is not really enjoyable. The star anise and raspberry are very faint and you have to search for them. Overall a fine rum, but falls pretty short of the standard I’ve come to expect from Saint Lucia

8,6:On the nose, vegetal notes, glue, roasted wood and allspice, tropical fruits with banana and passion fruit, citrus, bump into our nosetrils. On aeration, the molasses is fresh with tea, flowery and herbaceous, sweet with honey, some green fruits arise, rubber and menthol, as the wood brings confectionery, is slightly resinous, smoky, perhaps we notice juniper. 8,5:On the palate, the attack is strong with menthol and allspice, much later vanilla, roasted wood notes like crunchy bread, roasted nuts, butterscotch, pastry, slightly smoky, later resinous, fruity with citrus and tropical fruits like banana, later green fruits, some coconut, perhaps yellow fruits. The molasses is grassy and minty, later dark with licorice.On oxidation, some rubber is obvious. 8,6:The finish is long, balanced, dry, as roasted wood notes(oaky), smoky, like crunchy bread, cookie dough, butterscotch, buttery and nutty, intermingle with tropical fruits like banana and pineapple, citrus and grassy, flowery molasses, fresh with tea..

So, I finally tried the three new bottlings from the Flag Series. Unfortunately, this rum from Saint Lucia didn't really convince me. For the price, you get more for your money with Chairman's.

Even the nose surprises me positively with its complexity. Dried fruit (especially plum) as well as tropical fruit, mint, wood and some sticky aromas accompany you from start to finish, with the intensity decreasing from nose to palate to finish. Alcohol perfectly integrated!

A very smoky and rather herbal St. Lucia profile. Incense, herbs, unripe pineapple, dried fruit, lots of wood and medicinal bitter aromas, as well as menthol and camphor. The alcohol could be better integrated. Overall, not entirely convincing for me...

#5721 27.09.2025 Day one of the Whisky Live 2025, which this year looks better organized/arranged inside. This one is a better release and you can actually get the heavier notes in the profile. Wood is present witout being dominant alongside the medicinal, glue and dried fruit notes. In the back there are some light pastry notes and tobacco.

Whisky Live Paris 2025 - to be tasted again to confirm score and notes I am not a huge fan of Saint Lucia rums, and this one confirms my feelings. There is some kind of glue / butirric acid note that spoils completely the rum for me.

There have already been some good bottlings from the flag series, so I'm also looking forward to this St. Lucia. A Chairman (Vendome) in terms of profile, but predominantly continental matured (19ko/2tr)... fermented sour fruits, chemical, butter cake, cask come across the nose. On the palate the charred notes dominate, the whole thing is a bit one-sided. Overall, I had the Rum&Co 2004 Chairman, for example, further ahead.

Fully tasty Chairmans

The nose is very complex and wonderfully full of flowers, tropical fruit, glue, butter, and a touch of toasted wood. Banana and sweet pineapple also emerge, with a touch of citrus for sharpness. This is simply a delight on the nose. On the palate, it starts strong with menthol and vanilla, transitioning to tropical fruit, banana, and citrus. The finish is certainly long. Tea, slightly dry, and a touch of smoky wood. In short, a wonderfully complex, fresh, and fruity rum with a long, refreshing finish.

St. Lucia is honored in this bottling from the Flag Series in the best possible way. The nose is fresh, herbaceous, medicinal (glue) with beautiful woody, spicy, and roasted notes that structure the profile. Prunes and yellow tropical fruits are also discernible, adding an exotic touch. A varied, intense, and balanced nose. On the palate, this is a powerful, mentholated, medicinal rum that brings passion fruit, pineapple, and dried fruit to the palate for maximum generosity. It has a lush profile with a superb aromatic spectrum. The wood, spices, and especially the roasted notes are reinforced on the palate. The alcohol is well integrated. The finish is long, marked by this mentholated and medicinal influence that gives way to smokiness. The wood and roasted notes remain present, but the yellow tropical fruits return to bring sweetness to the finish. A lovely rum from Saint Lucia that explores many facets of the island, but the price seems a little disconnected. It is possible to discover the terroir of Saint Lucia for much less money and with just as much travel.

"First impressions of whisky tasting live 2025, a second tasting in a quiet environment will be needed to really validate or develop the commentary and the score". Complex, intense and fruity. Dry and slightly medicinal, with a long finish.

On the nose this rum was very different than all the other St.Lucian rums i have tasted to far, so had to do some research about it. Vendôme pot still that has been aged for two years in a tropical climate followed by nineteen years in a continental one. On the nose: Woody, medicinal, roasted and earthy notes dominate profile. Light minty notes and glue notes in the background. Taste: Woody, minty, medicinal and roasted notes with menthol notes in the background. Then you get some alcoholic notes. Medicinal/menthol notes evolve towards more tar and rubber kind of notes. Light glue notes in the background in here and there. Finish: Woody, minty, medicinal and roasted at first. Then is gets dry, light smoky notes and little bit of citrus peel notes. Medium finish. One rum purist might ask is this St Lucian rum anymore due to its long continental aging. Back to the rum, interesting, different flavour profile, but the integration of alcohol could have been better and that drops the score for me.

That's pretty good. It's a little reminiscent of the 1997 PMs without quite reaching the accentuation of the best barrels. The tropical maturation also suits the profile better for my taste. The price is of course unreasonable, as is unfortunately so often the case with LMDW.