Savanna Archives - The Distillates

Tasting Notes by Brand: Savanna

Shane

Savanna HERR 2017 @ 62.5% by Habitation Velier

Nose: The day we moved to the canaries and walked into our first grocery store, we had an intense moment of deja vu. A large box of fresh, luscious ripe Driscol strawberries sat right at the entrance. I understand when I see the same candy brand in different countries, but the fact that the strawberry grower who produced most of California’s berries not 10 miles from our home, was the main provider to a small island off of Africa, that was a strange moment of global awakening. It’s all connected. We’d pick strawberries and set them on warm hay. Mom would get such an abundance when I lived in LA that we would dehydrate them, concentrating their flavors and adding a touch of tannic intensity. While we have pineapples on the island, they are odd stunted little creatures, nothing like the potent juicy ones from our time in Hawaii. I loved grilling on the lanai, cutting a pineapple in half and caramelizing it on the bbq. I’ve had this a few times and those two notes, ripe strawberries and overripe pineapple are the DNA I associate with HERR. But tonight I also get that cloying smell that comes from hanging next to the cotton candy machine during carnaval. And the slightest moment of brine and salinity, olives and red bell peppers marinated together.

Palate: The palate is so deeply concentrated as to make me pucker. Potent cedar note first followed by a wallop of sweet eucalyptus honey lozenges. Papaya while still firm. Twice fried sweet plantains with lime and seasalt. Pineapple dance party. The hint of salinity on the nose is a full on tsunami, dutch double salted licorice. I honestly would love this whole experience as a bubble gum flavor.

Rating: 7 / 10 – this is amazing. While I truly enjoy the powerful complexity in this bottling, it’s so overwhelming as to be a tiny sipper. I would rarely reach for it. But it is also not my favorite HERR. That was the black label with the pink ribbon – 57 if I remember – that Christian poured for me? That was all the glorious fruit and none of the intense salinity.

Shane

Savanna Rhum Grand Arôme 2002 #401 57.8%

Nose: Rum cake, toasted pineapple, state fair kettle corn, deep fried everything, australian style strawberry licorice.

Palate: Farm funky, past their prime tropical fruits, phases into eucalyptus menthol and strawberries and soft tropical fruits. Tangerine peel, Fun ride.

Rating: 8 / 10 – so damn good

Shane

Savanna L’Absolu 2023 55.5%

Nose: Touch of cinnamon, teddy grahams, banana peel, subtle but refined tropical fruits, pencil lead

Palate: GIVE ME ALL YOUR OLIVES, great oak, nice bit of cabinet spices (heavy on the clove, anise, allspice), a hint of tannic bitterness

Rating: 6 / 10

Créol Savanna Rhum Agricole Vieux 2002 Port Finish #976 46%

Nose: Incredibly aromatic, prunes, dates, fresh snap peas, mom’s greenhouse with distinct tomato plant. old oak. Loads of sugars.

Palate: The oak is strong yet not too drying. potent “green” vegetal floral note as well (dandelion greens, tomato vines), bit of honey, prunes and figs

Rating: 7 (Shane) 5 (Ryan) / 10 – this does not drink like an old rhum at first. I would swear up and down it’s an old cognac. Elegant. Floral. Then the green fresh notes and wood blossom. This gets much better with a large sip. A truly special pour. It’s a Salma Hayek of pours – absolutely gorgeous and yet doesn’t hold Ryan’s interest. He is broken.

Shane

Savanna 15 Intense Savanna Rhum Traditionnel Vieux 1999 #973 46%

Nose: Spearmint lifesavers.

Palate: Floral, spearmint lifesavers, dried potpourri, strange herbal/woody medicinal finish

Rating: 5 / 10

Shane

Savanna 15 Rhum Grand Arôme 2004 #931 49.2%

Nose: Syrupy, apricots/loquat, spearmint lifesavers, white tea, overripe pineapple, juicy fruit.

Palate: So fruity, really delicious, the wood lends a really nice backbone to balance out the nose/palate

Rating: 8 / 10

Savanna 10 Rhum Grand Arôme 2007 Omaggio #515 55.1%

Nose: Slight barnyard in a good way, wet hay, vanilla bean, banana peel.

Palate: I’ve never had this hard a time taking notes. Earl grey on milk, bergamot, overripe pineapple, wet hay and barnyard funk but subtle, cloves

Rating: 9 / 10 – benefits from a big sip and is amazingly well integrated. Passed the burp test. =p

Shane

Savanna 2007 10 Year Collection Grand Arôme Chai Humide Cask #339 59.1%

Nose: Snapple was a fucking revolution. Kiwi strawberry liquid crack. And somehow they convinced our high school that having juice vending machines was healthy, so while there wasn’t soda on campus, you could get as much peach iced tea or juice hybrids as you had quarters. The explosive spicy nose of ginger chews. I have a full on therapeutic reaction to that smell as someone who suffers motion sickness. Even the smell is enough to make me perk up and feel better. I had a friend mention cumin and he is soooo right. This has such a great lassi bent.

Palate: How do you get such subtlety at this potency? A gorgeous gorgeous palate. Mango sticky rice and coconut sorbet. Tart yogurt and cardamom. With a drizzle of honey on it.

Rating: 9 / 10 – This is stunning. jeeeez.

Shane

Savanna 2003 16 Year Collection Métissage Maputo Cask #988 64.2%

Nose: First instinct is masala. Or some kind of wine cask. But I then doubt myself. Which is frankly a reflection of my week. Shit got heavy enough I started baking during calls. Embraced the call of thick moist banana bread. I added espresso grounds, dark chocolate nibs and a big old dollop of a high ester beast. And folded in greek yogurt. This is probably one of the more restrained noses and it has a dry grass and high wood note that isn’t my jam.

Palate: Astringent, young grape eau de vie notes. I could almost believe this is an older armagnac that lost its way and went flat, but then the sweetness layers in. A bit of oaky chew, but not the spice cabinet. Hints of herbal and bitter forest mushrooms. Damn dude, I don’t love this.

Rating: 4 / 10 – Ohh I looked it up and it’s a Darroze finish. Wish they shared what domaine. Mostly so I know what not to send as a finishing cask. But it does have that bitter herbality I often find in some of the older Darroze bottlings which I try to avoid.

Shane

Savanna 2007 13 Year Cask 355 62.6% for Rum Nation (Small Batch Rare Rums)

Nose: I’m getting to the point where I smell and instantly recognize the savanna DNA. And I’m incredibly partial to it, more than most people I meet. It’s like a pineapple and a strawberry had a love child and were rocking it in a cedar bassinet lined with a blanket doused in mint oils. The kids left a couple star fruits hiding behind the bananas I was letting go super ripe to make bread, and when I found them, all the starfruit sourness had a whole new layer of funk. Turned into fantastic lemonade, but I wouldn’t do it on purpose.

Palate: Kapoooow. So much rock n roll in such a tiny bottle. Julie used fruit chapstick for years. I still love strawberry kisses. Kids and I made strawberry ginger beer a couple years ago. Mash up ultra ripe strawberries, grip of sugar, with a nice layer of ginger & lemon. Let them sit for a week in a 2L soda bottle until it carbonated and the yeast went bonkers. It had that amazing funky spiciness. Under the fruit is a touch of salinity, maybe more towards brine? I really like picking radishes for tacos, or lime pickled red onions.

Rating: 7 / 10 – just delicious concentration of goodness. You gotta jive the esters to get to this train, but if you don’t mind the funk, it’s got a hint of the dirty side without grinding your face into the parking lot.

Savanna 2007 8 Year Rhum Grand Arôme #171 60.4%

Nose: Bubble gum, dusting of cinnamon and indian spices, kombucha

Palate: Olives, those indian spices and cinnamon, sandalwood, root beer bottle caps.

Rating: ? / 10

Shane

Savanna 14 Year Grand Arome Porto Cask #391 57%

Nose: There is something magical to a glass ignored. It blooms like a flower in a vase, slowly filling the room with character. And while it’s got that nose which I consider distinctly savanna which my brain translates as pineapple, tonight it feels like a tart granny smith apple peel. And red globe grapes. And heavily wooded. Two hours later, when I finally come back to drink it (oops), it distinctly reminds me of mom’s greenhouse. Chocolate tomato vines in bloom, the habanero with its bright bold flavors, stringbeans, rich moisture and decomposing leaves under foot.

Palate: Greenhouse on point. And a distinct earthy sweetness. Julie went through a phase of shopping at the hippy grocer not far from our home in santa cruz. She’d bring home sweets from the bins and I never could quite get into them. I’d only eat the licorice, leave the rest for her. Something less refined. Distinctly herbal and quite musky the more this rests. Like aged and fermented teas

Rating: 6 / 10 – This is fun. A bit on the bizarre side, and probably not a pour I would reach for regularly, but what a powerful nose at first, and a beautiful confluence of flavors.

Shane

Savanna Unshared cask #1043 for Belgium 2020 50%

Nose: Varnish, pineapple, warm bricks with strawberries sitting in the sun, live young bamboo, sugar snap peas, shredded redwood. Living in an apartment, I often miss sinking my hands into the ground. I’ve been chatting with my mom about small closed system hydroponics, which gives you the green and the berries but misses the feel of the soil.

Palate: White pineapple tea. Touch of aspirin. The nose strongly hints at it, but the palate brings it home. Less fruit and far more vegetable garden. Sauteed green beans. Rainbow chard. Braised cauliflower.

Rating: 4 / 10 – This misses the fruit big hug that I look for in a Savanna. The varnish / aspirin vibe is too much.

Shane

Savanna Rhum Grande Arôme 12 Year Cask #415 56.5%

Nose: It’s dark out but still hot tonight. The clouds just rolled in to cover the stars. I keep putting a shirt on for zoom meetings and then taking it off between. This bottle needs a cicada soundtrack. It smells like indian summer. Pineapple on a stick. Fresh strawberry mint lemonade popsicles. Damn I need to make those again. Old spice aftershave. Big wood and a spice hit of cloves and cinnamon…

Palate: Lightly fermented pineapple kombucha. Brazil nuts. Turron leaning into the nougat side. Nutmeg. I loved dried spiced lemon and orange peel my buddy Eddy Fei used to share with me. I think they were from china. Spiced with chili and star of anise. Probably other spices. Wish I could try them again. A light aspirin vibe underneath, but it’s not bothering me this time.

Rating: 7 / 10 – now we are talking. Big bold palate. yum.