Uitvlugt 1997 - Velier - 59,7%
Picture taken somewhere in Santanyi (Mallorca)
In most cases when you are confronted by these black bottles with the iconic and minimalistic bicolored labels, you know that you're in for a treat and it's getting hard to stay objective. While distilled on the French Savalle still, the backlabel describes an experiment that eventuated in an (Uitvlugt) Light Rum. Idle hands are the devil's workshop, so let's face it.
Nose
Plata o plomo! Once again we landed in a drug lab in the middle of the colombian (actually guyanese) jungle, being confronted with plumes of sweet, sticky and addictive glues! Wood glue, UHU, PATTEXX, hundreds of them. Don't mess this up with the sticky sweetness of sweetend spirit drinks, we are talking about something of another galaxy here. The whole scenery is covered in a deep forest of mango and papaya plants, mahagoni and rosewood trees, vines and earthy manioc roots. Plus one or two elegant violets and cloves. Those tropically matured Uitvlugts by Velier are truly one unique hell of an experience. It's like a vicious, yet elegant perfume. A femme fatale of rum.
Palate
We must warn you again! What a viciously beguiling, super dense, thick and complex tincture. Caramel drops, dried mangos, honey melons, carob and fried bananas, stewed in a mixture of molasses, fresh paint and glue. The natural sweetness is almost intoxicating, but without becoming annoying at any stage. In contrary, it's causing a strong attraction, forcing us to go in there again. The second sip reveals a gentle smokiness of burnt rubber, spicy cloves and brine-y pickles, lending greater depth to the whole composition.
Finish
Long like the beach of Copacabana and just as vibrant. Chocolat-y carob, sour maniok, sweet tonka beans cream and an edgy note of burnt rubber are dancing Samba on our taste buds for minutes.
Rating
Take this poor attempt to describe this dram in movie language: When Uitvlugt 1988 is the Apocalypse Now of the legendary jungle war movies, Uitvlugt 1997 is Platoon, does that ring a bell? Both movies were brillant, with the first one just being a bit more sophisticated and artistic than the second one (forget about that IMDb Rating!).
To be honest, we would almost rank this juice on the same level as UF30E. You may open fire on us now.
