In a previous review I looked at the entry level Phraya aged rum from Thailand, called “Elements”, and this one is not too far distanced from that one, except in so far that it has a definitive age statement – 8 years. However, it is an ongoing blended rum, so there is not a year of distillation or bottling to be found anywhere – and, as the brand rep at the German Rum Festival remarked to me, it is a relatively new product, having been introduced in 2023, almost a decade after the original edition came to market. Clearly, then, the original “Elements” sold well enough to warrant something a bit more upscale.
Production details remain the same: molasses from local sugar, short fermentation time, column still distillation, aged in charred ex-bourbon barrels, released at standard strength (40%). In that sense it is something of a Cuban / Latin / Spanish style rum, though I see little evidence of a set of white haired old maestros roneros standing around like old bull elephants at a watering hole, tasting carefully, muttering to themselves and doing their careful blending and barrel magic, the way they do in Cuba and elsewhere.
Which leads us to the tasting notes of this eight year old rum, now that we know that age aside it’s not a thousand miles away from its predecessor. The nose is quite nice – easy, unaggressive, rum like. It noses lightly sweet, with overripe red grapes, oranges, mangoes n the edge of going off, plus some honey, vanilla and cardamom. There’s a really faint briny and fusel oil note being hinted at, but it’s too vague to comer to grips with and disappears too fast.
The palate? Well, it’s better than the previous version, though this may be damning it with faint praise. Slightly dry, slightly sweet. Grapes, honey, coconut shavings, crushed walnuts, a hint of macha tea (weird, right?). Again, cardamom, vanilla, some dry polished leather and smoke and if there’s any bitterness from the oak it was aged in, I couldn’t spot it. The same is true of the finish, which is short, easy, and gives little more than some light fruits, honey and, of course, the vanilla. Ho hum.
As with the original Phraya Elements, we’re looking at a decent midrange rum that yes, can be sipped, and yes it will please, and no, there’s nothing bad to say about it – my feeling is simply that like its predecessor, it breaks no new ground. Tasted blind, you wouldn’t discern any serious differences with other middling-aged rums from elsewhere. To be fair, the aromas and flavours come out cleanly and crisply, with just enough complexity to make it better than sweetened nonsense, yet simultaneously with too little of anything – intensity or originality – to make a serious statement for either itself or Thailand. Aside from its exotic location, then, I’d much rather take a Bacardi Ocho for its lesser price, and the Hampden 8YO for a more intense and better flavour profile, and if I was restricting myself to Thai rums only, well, Issan and Chalong bay would still get my bahts first.
(#1141)(81/100) (⭐⭐⭐½)
Other notes
- Video recap link
- Sang Som distillery was founded in 1977, and is supposed to be the oldest in Thailand. It is located in Nakhon Pathom province, which is just to the west of the capital, Bangkok.
- The Phraya brand was first established in 2011 by Sang Som Distillery, itself owned by the spirits conglomerate known as ThaiBev. The name derives from a old time title of Thai nobility and can still be found in other contexts, such as the Chao Phraya river that runs through Bangkok. In the brand lineup, there are three different editions: the “Elements” standard edition, the Elements 8YO (this one), and then their premium edition, the simply named “Phraya Rum”, which is a blend of 7-12YO rums.
- “Elements” is pretty much a branding and marketing term, and refers to the four ancient elements of reality – fire, air, earth and water – which impact the making of rum. Me, I think it’s occasionally something of a stretch, but ok. The important thing to note is that the rum derives from molasses made from Thai sugar cane, has a short fermentation time, is run through a multi-column still, then aged in charred ex-Bourbon barrels for five to seven years. The barrels are apparently stored next to a series of lagoons that (according to the company website) cool the ambient temperature and somewhat retard the tropical ageing process.