Rum and Tequila at La Perla in Covent Garden

A few rums and tequilas tasted at La Perla one evening.  First the rums, then the tequilas, with some Mexican staples to eat along the way.  We had planned to taste tequilas here, but on arriving found that they had a fair range of rums too, so started on those.

Appleton Estate (Didnt’ take down specifics, but generic entry level version I expect…)
Pale amber
Pronounced nose of caramel, banana, cooked banana, vanilla, dried fruits, aniseed, pungent
Off-dry, medium(+) body, warming alcohol
Long length, balanced but simple finish

Angostura 1919
Medium amber
Pronounced nose of marzipan, praline, chocolate, coconut, vanilla, fudge
Medium, soft alcohol, medium body, similar characteristics to nose
Long length, balanced and complex

El Dorado 12 year old
Medium amber / brown
Pronounced nose of nuts, orange peel, cinnamon, cloves, cherry, vanilla
Sweet, soft alcohol, medium body, patisserie
Long length, balanced and complex

Cachaca is related to rum but is made from sugar cane juice instead of molasses and unintentionally bridged the gap between rum and tequila here quite well, because it had some rum-like notes but also had the pungent vegetal notes of tequila…

Sagatiba Aged Cachaca
Pale tawny
Pronounced, savoury, vegetal (sage?), grassy, fresh leaves, sugar, slightly fishy
Soft alcohol
Balanced finish

Then onto tequila… these are all 100% agave tequilas, so have a more distinctive flavour than the mass market tequilas which can be up to 50% “other fermentable sugars” in addition to the agave, which muddies the taste.  Reposado means “rested”, which is three to six months ageing.  Anejo means “aged”, which is at least a year of ageing.

Tapatio Reposado
Pale gold
Pronounced white pepper, lemon, fruit – mango?, pungent vegetal
Medium length

Tapatio Anejo
Medium gold
Pronounced white pepper, pungent vegetal, cabbage, tinned asparagus, savoury, lemon zest
Medium(+) length, complex finish

1800 Anejo
Medium tawny
Pronounced, pungent, vegetal, salty, spice, vanilla, caramel
Medium body, smooth alcohol
Long finish, balanced

Matusalem 10 year old (notes getting sketchy here…)
Soft, sweet, sugar, vanilla