Takamaka Extra Noir Rum

Takamaka Extra Noir is produced by the Trois Frères Distillery on Mahé in the Seychelles and sits within the St André Series, a set of releases designed to show a more technical and experimental side of the house style. The rum is made from molasses distillate using both column and pot still components, giving a balance between cleaner spirit structure and heavier, higher congener intensity. That pot still element is what brings the subtle “funk” edge, while the column spirit keeps the profile controlled and mixable at 43% ABV.

In terms of wood influence, Extra Noir is engineered to be oak forward. The rum is worked with French oak input alongside ex bourbon wood influence and then rested again in cask for a marrying period. Practically, this pushes extraction of lignin derived aromatics like vanillin and spice, while concentrating woody lactones and tannins that give the palate its dry grip and chew. It’s also typically presented without chill filtration and without added sugar, so the texture and flavour are coming from distillate composition plus wood driven compounds rather than sweetening.

Tasting notes: The nose leads with toasty, freshly cut oak, a little smoke, vanilla and a faint funky molasses note. On the palate it is full bodied and deliberately woody, with dark chocolate and caramel tones sitting under the oak spice, then molasses, peppery warmth and a lightly charred edge. The finish is long and chewy, dominated by oak, vanilla and lingering spice, landing closer to a young oak driven whisky drinker’s rum than a sweetened “dark rum” style.