Trois Rivières is a Martinique distillery specializing in rhum agricole, and one that I haven’t had a lot of experience with. They were purchased by Campari in 2019, before that having been part of a smaller spirits holding company. I saw a bottle of their Special Reserve (stylized “TRSR” on the bottle) at Binny’s on a clearance rack, and took advantage of the opportunity to try it.
The first thing I noticed about this bottle after taking it out of the cardboard sleeve was the level of detail – there is quite a bit of attractive embossing on the bottle. There was some sediment floating in the bottle, indicating that the rum hadn’t been filtered between cask and bottling. This is a normal thing, and the particles were small enough to not be distracting – so I forged ahead. I’m wondering if this was a result of how long the bottle had been on the shelf at Binny’s (given that it was on clearance).
The description on the sleeve indicates that the Special Reserve holds a place near the top of the Trois Rivières lineup, and also hints that it has a different flavor profile than most of their lineup. It was aged 5 years before bottling, and was bottled at 40%, which is on the low end for premium rums.
Upon pouring, the Special Reserve had a classic rhum agricole nose, with stone fruit and some wood notes. It drinks very, very smooth – no doubt helped by the five years of tropical aging and the relatively low proof at bottling. The taste reminded me of a brandy, with some spice and oak notes. There was a hint of some sort of sweet melon.
Overall, this was an enjoyable rhum agricole, but not one I’d reach for again on a trip to the store. I’ll probably rotate this in for cocktails calling for an aged rhum agricole, while possibly sipping it neat on occasion.
The Hooch Herald 