oReizinho

Description

For the first time, we bring you a Portuguese Agricole Rum, EXCLUSIVE to the Tribe in Australia and rated 4 stars by TheFatRumPirate! The oReizinho is a refined agricole-style rum, crafted with precision to highlight the pure essence of sugarcane, offering fresh, grassy, and floral notes with a crisp finish.

We are super excited to feature a Portuguese rum for the first time. This artisanally created Agricole rum (and yes, it can legally be called Agricole) is from one of only a handful of rum producers in Portugal.

oReizinho is a family owned and run rum distillery from the island of Madeira.  Owned and operated by Pedro Ferraira and his family – somewhat mysteriously, the distillery was ‘established in 1982 (under guidance form Pedro’s father), but officially started producing in 2012.  From the beginning processing about 10 tons of cane, oReizinho now crushes over 300 tons annually.

Up until about 8 years ago, growth of the little distillery had been slow. But then  a chance meeting with Peter Holland (ex That Boutiquey Rum Company and now Foursquare) changed all that.

In Pedro’s own words: “After meeting Peter Holland some 8 years ago we quickly became friends and he managed to open a lot of doors for me in England and France. “

And open some doors he obviously did for the family of rum producers.  Between 2012 and 2019 their production went from 1300 litres to over 14,000 litres – more than a ten-fold increase!

As a sign of his friendship and respect, Pedro asked Peter to collaborate with him on blending a 3yo rum from his barrels of aging stock. After much long-distance discussions and many cask samples making their way across Europe to England (where Peter resides) – the blend of Pedro’s rums was decided on, it was cut down to its bottling strength of 45%… and the oReizinho Aged 3 Years was born!

We are proud to bring this rare rum to Australia for the very first time! Wes Bergin (aka TheFatRumPirate) rated it 4 stars in his review. In fact, his only criticism was that he couldn’t get his hands on any more… BUT YOU CAN! Don’t miss out on this unique and exclusive opportunity to taste a Portuguese Agricole rum, made in a traditional Portuguese Brandy still (called an “Alambique”) from this tiny (although growing every year!) artisan distillery.

Our Tasting Notes

Nose: freshly opened bag of mixed dried fruit is first impression, then a jasmine note emerges wrapped in just the merest estery cloak of varnish and the merest sprinkle of umami there too

Palate: Big, sweet fruity rush with a mild hot-ginger tang, but then it quickly shows it’s dry side with some tannins emerging, there’s also a hint of saltyness that makes itself known

Finish: An almost smoky flavour on the finish – quite unlike peaty smoke in whisky (more sweet, less musty) – which dances very well with the sweet fruity notes.

Wow – this is not what I was expecting – lots more red fruit than I anticipated in an Agricole. A lovely floral note – but little of those fresh-cut grassy notes that usually stand out in Agricole. It’s different. Good different! Lots of flavours to discover in this one – it’s one of those rums where you find a new facet to it’s flavour profile after every sip. This is ‘chatting about it with a drinking buddy’ rum at its finest!