Review: Compagnie Des Indes – Caraibes (Rum)    80/100
Review by Chip Dykstra
Published July 17, 2023

Compagnie des Indes is a French spirits company which produces a growing family of rums selected from various rum producers from all over the world. They import these rums into France and offer them either as single cask offerings representing a cane spirit from a particular region or as carefully selected blends.

Caraibes is one of those carefully selected blends featuring rums from Trinidad, Barbados and Guyana. The rums which form the basis for the blend are stated on the bottle to have been aged between 3 and 5 years in ex-bourbon barrels. Its hard to tell from reading the website but this spirit appears to be what Compagnie Des Indes calls one of their “Rums for Beginners“. These ‘beginner’ rums are blended to soften the edgy characteristics of regional rums; they may also contain added sugar to help with this softening of the rum blend.

Based on what I can further glean from their website, Caraibes appears to be promoted as a cocktail rum rather than as a sipping rum. The imported rum is bottled at 40 % alcohol by volume.

In The Bottle 4.5/5

Cariabes is sold in the attractive bottle and cardboard box display shown to the left. The bottle reminds me of those used by El Dorado Rum (based in Guyana) and it makes me wonder whether the rum was bottled at their facility before being imported into France. I like everything about the presentation (especially the dense cork closure) which is much nicer than we typically see for a ‘beginner’ rum meant for cocktails. Having said that, in my locale, the price of the spirit seems a little high for a beginning cocktail mixer as well ($43.67/bottle).

In The Glass 8/10

Colour: Pale Straw

Nose: Light butterscotch, almond, licorice, and vanilla with fine wood spice, banana and orange peel following.There is a funky herbal note rising into the air, indicating that perhaps some of the liquid was distilled from a short column or perhaps a pot still. Bits of menthol, a light touch of cinnamon, and perhaps an indication of camphor round out my aromatic perceptions.  There is also (unfortunately) a sharp note of alcohol astringency which causes me some concern.

In The Mouth 48.5/60

The rum is lightly sweet with flavours of butterscotch, vanilla and almond mixing with herbal grasses. Bits of menthol and camphor mix with light baking spices (cinnamon and ginger). There is some sharpness manifesting itself as spicy orange and banana peel as well as indications of astringent alcohol. I waited for several minutes to see if the flavours deepened or showed more complexity, but my patience was unrewarded.

I like the light complexity I am tasting, however as I wait the rum does not develop further in the glass. When I add ice, the sharpness of the spirit is muted to a large extent; however, I find myself much more inclined to mix a cocktail than to sip the spirit over ice.  To that end, I would be much more inclined to mix a daiquiri style serving rather than to mix with Cuba Libres with cola.

In the Throat 11/15

The finish is sharp with spicy orange and banana peel followed by wood spice masquerading as cinnamon. Unfortunately a shallow burn accompanies the sharp spices. Herbal menthol and light butterscotch help to soothe the throat but they do not quite soothe it completely.

The Afterburn  8/10

Compagnie Des Indes Caraibes is pretty much what was implied on the company website; it is a cocktail mixer  rather than a rum suitable for sipping. It’s herbal flavour will appeal to those who prefer agricole rhums, whereas those who prefer to mix with cola and ice should probably steer clear. (See my cocktail suggestion below.) 

If you are interested in comparing more scores, here is a link to my other published Rum Reviews.

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Cocktail Suggestion

A young rum (or rhum) with an herbal flavour component tastes very nice in an ice-filled cocktail where the slowly melting ice slowly changes the the serving as you sip. Please enjoy my Embargo Coctail.

Embargo Cocktail

2 1/2 oz Compagnie Des Indes Caraibes
1/2 oz fresh squeezed Lemon Juice
1/2 oz fresh squeezed Lime Juice
1/2 oz Orange Curacao (Triple Sec)
dash Angostura Cocktail Bitters
1/2 oz Sugar Syrup
Ice
Citrus Peel (Optional)

Add the Caraibes Rum, and the rest of the ingredients into a metal cocktail shaker with ice
Shake until the sides of the shaker begin to frost
Pour the chilled mixture into a glass filled 1/3 with chipped ice
If desired , add a citrus coil for garnish

And of course enjoy responsibly!

Note: If  you are interested in more of my original cocktail recipes, please click this link (Cocktails and Recipes) for more of my mixed drink recipes!

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My Final Score is out of 100 and you may (loosely) interpret the score as follows:

0-25     A spirit with a rating this low would actually kill you.
26-49   Depending upon your fortitude you might actually survive this.
50 -59  You are safe to drink this…but you shouldn’t.
60-69   Substandard swill which you may offer to people you do not want to see again.
70-74    Now we have a fair mixing rum or whisky.  Accept this but make sure it is mixed into a cocktail.
75-79    You may begin to serve this to friends, again probably still cocktail territory.
80-84    We begin to enjoy this spirit neat or on the rocks. (I will still primarily mix cocktails)
85-89    Excellent for sipping or for mixing!
90-94    Definitely a primary sipping spirit, in fact you may want to hoard this for yourself.
95-97.5 The Cream of the Crop
98+       I haven’t met this bottle yet…but I want to.

Very loosely we may put my scores into terms that you may be familiar with on a Gold, Silver, and  Bronze medal  scale as follows:

70 – 79.5    Bronze Medal (Recommended only as a mixer)
80 – 89.5     Silver Medal (Recommended for sipping and or a high quality mixer)
90 – 95         Gold Medal (Highly recommended for sipping and for sublime cocktails.)
95.5+            Platinum Award (Highest Recommendation)