Swell De Spirits 3yo Distillerie du Galion Grand Arôme Rum and Papalin 5yo High Ester Pot-Still Vatted Jamaican Rum Review
- Nikkhil Shirodkar
- 3 days ago
- 9 min read
After diving into the raw expression of cane juice through Clairin, and then stepping into the world of Renegade Pearls and Mhoba Strand 101 where terroir takes centre stage, the narrative moves now to Jamaica and Martinique. The lens shifts from rustic cane juice identity to distillates that build their character through completely different pathways. Those were cane driven spirits where fermentation kept the aroma of fresh cane juice alive. Grass, herbs, citrus and mineral depth travelled straight from the crop to the glass. The distiller was a custodian. The cane was already speaking.
Now the focus turns to rums that take a very different route treating fermentation as the source of identity. With molasses the natural cane character is gone long before the ferment begins. Nothing is waiting to be preserved and flavour has to be built from scratch. So fermentation becomes creative. Yeast, bacteria, acids and esters step in to do the work. The distiller becomes the author.
Jamaica needs no introduction when it comes to high-ester swagger. It has long stood as the emblem of funk and fermentation complexity, fiercely molasses-based and unapologetically character driven. Long ferments, wild microbiology and pot still weight give the spirit its shape. It is a deliberate construction of flavour. Papalin 5 year old High Ester Pot Still Vatted Jamaican Rum is written in that language.
Swell De Spirits 3 year old Galion Grand Arôme (large aroma) takes the idea in a different direction. Martinique is known for agricole traditions but here the distillery expresses itself through molasses. The grassy signatures are absent yet the sense of place remains.
Mind you, this review is not agricole vs molasses. It is a study of intent. Fermentation can protect a voice that nature has already given or it can build a voice that did not exist until the distiller created it. Both paths are legitimate. Both demand conviction. And both prove that the story of flavour begins long before wood.
On your marques
Rum marques (marks) are essentially coded identifiers used to classify a distillate’s character before ageing or blending. They indicate how a rum was produced, particularly in relation to fermentation intensity, ester content and sometimes the yeast or process used. A marque acts as shorthand for style. In Jamaica, where the system is most famous, marques like WPL, STCE, LROK, C<>H or TECA signal specific ester ranges and flavour personalities to blenders and distillers. They are usually expressed in grams per hectolitre of pure alcohol or gr/hlpa. Lower ester marques are cleaner and lighter, while high ester marques are intensely aromatic and fermentation driven. You can see TECA and the ester levels mentioned on the label above.
Jamaican high ester rum is a style defined by intense fermentation character and bold aromatic markers often described as funky or overripe and at times rancid. It is usually made from molasses and fermented for long durations using a combination of wild yeast, bacteria and acidic backset known as dunder and muck. This creates a fermentation environment intentionally rich in organic acids which later react with alcohol during distillation to form esters.
An ester is an aromatic organic compound formed when an acid and an alcohol react in a process called esterification. The rum is then distilled in traditional copper pot stills (double retort) which preserve and concentrate these heavy, complex flavours. The result is a spirit that bursts with notes of pineapple, banana, solvents, spice and fermented tropical fruit. It is loud, expressive and instantly recognisable. Some of the most respected producers of this style include Hampden Estate, Long Pond, New Yarmouth, Worthy Park and occasionally Monymusk when they choose to release heavier marks.
A point to bear in mind is that high ester refers mainly to total ester concentration driven by ethyl acetate because it is the most abundant and easiest to measure. But the overall flavour depends on the wider congener family including heavier esters, acids, aldehydes, phenols and sulphur compounds. Which is why two rums with similar ester levels can behave very differently in the glass.
Beyond Jamaica, marques exist in places like Réunion, Madeira and Guyana, though they are often less public facing. In all cases, the purpose remains the same, to give distillers, bottlers and sometimes drinkers a precise vocabulary for spirit identity before the influence of barrel ageing, blending or branding takes over.
Image courtesy @velier
Grand arôme rum is a high ester style produced mainly in the French Caribbean, with Martinique being its historical stronghold. Unlike the island’s better known agricole rums made from fresh cane juice, grand arôme is molasses based and relies on extremely long, slow and open vat fermentations. These conditions encourage the development of organic acids that later form esters during distillation. There is no indication on the use of muck or cane acid. The spirit is usually distilled on a column still. While the PGI (protected geographical indication) frames grand arôme through pastry-like notes of cooked cane syrup and rum baba, modern bottlings reveal a much broader spectrum where high-ester fermentation delivers tropical fruit, brine, savoury depth and a sharp volatile lift.
Distillerie du Galion is the reference point and guardian of the style today, though historically similar rums were also produced at Saint James and in smaller quantities in Guadeloupe and Réunion, where Savanna Distillery continues to honour the grand arôme tradition with some of the most characterful modern releases. Traditionally grand arôme was sold unaged as a highly aromatic industrial rum, but modern producers and bottlers have started ageing it, creating a small but fascinating niche of cask matured grand arôme.
Whether it is Jamaican high-ester or Grand Arôme, these ester monsters were made as a concentrate to be used in blending or as a flavouring agent and never meant to be drunk neat.
Swell de Spirits - Easy Peasy 3yo Le Galion Grand Arôme 56.3% Edition 04
This is a limited bottling from the Le Galion sugar factory and distillery in Martinique bottled by french indie bottlers Swell de Spirits. Le Galion is the only distillery in Martinique that uses molasses rather than fresh cane juice and follows the traditional Grand Arôme approach relying on long natural fermentation to achieve very high ester and volatile compound levels. Unlike the classic unaged Grand Arôme releases, this edition has spent three years in ex-bourbon casks. Bottled at 56.3% ABV, it represents one of the few examples where the intense Grand Arôme identity is presented in an aged form rather than as a white rum intended exclusively for blending or as flavouring essence.
Swell de Spirits - Easy Peasy 3yo Le Galion Grand Arôme Edition 04
Base: Molasses
Distillation: Column Still
Cask type: 100% Ex-bourbon
Matured: in Martinique for 3yrs
Type: Single rum
ABV: 56.3%
Colour: Golden brown
Nose: Intensely briny, pickled green and black olives meet Drakshasav syrup ( an Ayurvedic tonic made from raisins/grape weak wine) joined by singer's sewing machine oil, burnt plastic, wet newspaper, bleach and a pair of fresh gumboots thrown in for good measure. In comes the tropical rot of pineapples, plums, mashed bananas, papaya, boiled red ber (Indian jujube) followed by smoked lemon balm with cloves, candied ginger and sun dried tomatoes. This is funk galore and once again my room is buzzing! The oak is subdued playing as a background extra in the form of caramel, sawdust, weak coffee and liquorice.
Palate: Arrival is initially sweet but quickly turns acidic and astringent. Its funky sour - underripe pineapple, plums, green banana skin, lemon and lime peels with the bitter pith. With rest it turns vegetal and briny - green olive brine, charred capsicum, dried herbs and tomato paste. The mouthfeel is thick and tongue coating but the distillate is still rough and its relative youth is fairly evident in its sharp heat, red chilly flake like attack on the mid-palate, in part due to its ABV along with grippy astringent oak. Can't say I'm liking this. After letting it sit further and adding a drop of water there's a marked improvement in the mouthfeel. Its a lot softer, fruitier and sweeter. The oak and ABV feel much more integrated.
Finish: Long with extended notes of overripe fruits, brine, rubber, caramel, bitter oak and spice.
Velier Papalin 5yo High Ester rum 57%
Papalin High Ester is a five year old blend of traditional Jamaican pot still rums. It is produced by Velier and is blended by Luca himself. It is a blend of three Jamaican distilleries Worthy Park, Long Pond and Hampden. The blend is built from three specific Jamaican marques each with its own ester range. WPL from Worthy Park is a lighter style at roughly 60 to 120 gr/hlpa. STCE from Long Pond is a medium heavy mark at roughly 550 to 700 gr/hlpa and C<>H from Hampden represents the extreme end of the spectrum at roughly 1300 to 1400 gr/hlpa. These rums are distilled entirely on copper double retort pot stills and aged for five years in Jamaica under tropical conditions. It has been bottled at different strengths depending on the release at 47% ABV and 57% ABV.
Velier Papalin 5yo High Ester rum
Base: Molasses
Distillation: Pot Still
Cask type: 100% Ex-bourbon
Matured: in Jamaica for 5yrs
Type: Blended rum - Worthy Park, Long Pond & Hampden distilleries
ABV: 57%
Colour: Golden brown
Nose: Berry-go-round! Raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, pineapple pastry, dried mangoes, overripe pink guava, vanilla custard, bubblegum, confectionery and a touch of pastis is followed by subtle funk of olives, varnish, B-complex, and a tiny hint of plasticine. This is a juicy, mouth-watering, tropical paradise! Soon dusty oak follows along with prunes, dried coriander, herbal honey, incense and minty white chocolate. There's a lovely note of scented clay very close to gopichandan which we use in our religious rituals. Lets hope the palate lives up to this incredible nose.
Palate: A complete contrast in arrival. Dusty oak leads the proceeding - resinous tannins, charred sugar on damp wood, wild honey and spice is joined by acetone, minty herbal liqueur, a touch of light soy, molasses, clove oil, dried fruits, dates, apricots and prunes. This is almost veering towards a dry oloroso finish. Just like the Galion, mouthfeel is thick, grippy and peppery but not as disjointed; the ABV is well integrated. There's a tiny bit of latent funk, olives, varnish and brine on the palate after a longish rest. Dilution unlocks the tropical side which was totally absent so far. Roasted pineapple, sweet lime and tartness of pomello emerge.
Finish: is long with lingering herbal tannic oak, sugar water and peppery spice with the mild funk of olives and brine.
Overall impressions:
Galion wears its Grand arôme identity without restraint. The nose promises high drama from the start and the palate delivers exactly that, but not always in the most rewarding way. The brine, sour fruit and vegetal funk come hard and fast, with oak doing little more than taking the edge off. The mouthfeel is thick yet the distillate still feels raw and the sharp heat a reminder that three years in wood has not fully tamed the spirit and perhaps that was never the intention. Completely disjointed nevertheless. Water and patience help it find sweetness and coherence, proving there is character and intent beneath the chaos, but it asks the drinker to work for it rather than meeting them halfway. And if this is the rounded version, one cannot help wondering what the unaged spirit tastes like when the cask is no longer there to soften the blows. For some that ferocity will be the entire point. For me, it sits just a little past the line of what is enjoyable neat. But I can totally see how this would work wonders in cocktails.
Papalin on the other hand feels like two very different spirits fused into one. The nose is a riot of fruit and confection, a dizzying carousel of berries, tropicals and patisserie that suggests an almost hedonistic ester profile. But the palate tells a very different story, drier, oak forward, resinous and herbal, with tannins and spice taking command while the fruit retreats into the background. The narrative shifts in the glass. It does not have the typical Jamaican high ester swagger and the funk stays faint, only emerging with patience or dilution. The texture is satisfying and the ABV is well integrated. For some, the contrast between the nose and palate will feel intriguing, a shift from exuberance to austerity. For me the fruit laden promise of the nose is left unfulfilled on the palate.
Either way, this is a rum with a split personality, divergent, surprising and intriguing. Though there are no disclosures on the proportions of the various components, my guess is 90-5-5 with bulk of the blend being Worthy Park and remainder Long Pond & Hampden. So hogo heads are in for a disappointment as the high-ester on the label will not live up to the conventional expectations of massive funk. Everything is kept well under manners. However this is an extremely approachable rum blend which would satisfy the novice as well as the experienced rum drinker.
Placed side by side, the pairing becomes more interesting. Papalin shows how high ester blend can be lush, fruit driven and charismatic without spinning out of control. Galion shows how high ester can be confrontational, saline, unruly and unapologetically industrial. Both are unmistakably fermentation forward but they express that philosophy in opposite emotional registers. One seduces. The other challenges. And that contrast is the real takeaway. Not which rum is better, but how wide the high ester universe truly is.
Viewed through the lens of origin, both bottles challenge expectation. Jamaica is often reduced to a shorthand of funk, hogo, and pot-stilled loudness. Yet with Papalin what emerges is a Jamaican rum that has a layered conversation rather than a single flavour caricature. Meanwhile, Galion disrupts the default association of Martinique with grassy cane juice purity and AOC structure. This rum belongs to the island’s parallel tradition. Industrial, molasses based, column stilled and driven by fermentation rather than regulation. Together, these two rums show that rum identity is not dictated by geography alone, but by every choice made between raw material, fermentation, distillation and culture.
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