EKTE Spirits is a range of rums from Denmark created by Daniel Nunez Bascunan, a long time bar industry professional and a rum geek, and he also runs a bar called Rum Club Copenhagen. Daniel was originally approached by one of the largest liquor chains in Denmark to develop a new line of products for the Scandinavian rum market and thus EKTE Spirits was born.
Daniel's idea behind the rum range was to create a transparent and honest rum brand to counter the less than honest marketing practices of some producers on the market.
All the rums produced by EKTE Spirits are listed on their website clearly stating if the blend has sugar added and how much. The naming of the rums is also different in a way that the name attempts to communicate the contents of the bottle in another way rather than simply stating how the spirit is made and aged, which is also great but probably not as easily deciphered by all. Pungent & Geeky for example to me suggests the spirit might be a bit heavier with a few other things going on than your run of the mill rum.
The marriage of rums for Pungent & Geeky consists of 40% 3 year old Jamaican Pot Still and 40% of an 8 year old blend of rums from Southern Barbados. The remaining 20% is a 5 year old blend from Trinidad.
Appearance
Pale straw colour with excellent clarity.
Nose
Pungent but not very heavy, the nose consists of a lot of over ripe or baked bananas and hints of caramel. There is perhaps some butterscotch in there too and the rum has an underlying fruitiness with vanilla. It is rather a mild, gentle and pleasant nose.
Taste
The Jamaican rum in this blend is definitely overpowering the other rum components. It is full bodied with a nice hit of wood and it is perfect balance of sweet and dry. It is rather fruity and juicy and has some sugar cane notes and roasted flavours too with minute amounts of floral notes and a medium complexity but with an excellenct concentration of flavours overall.
Finish
Initially the finish is rich in vanilla bean and stone fruit with soft brown sugar lingering for a long time with the fruit and roasted flavours. There is also a very small amount of a metallic taste that remains on the top of the palate. It is a well rounded finish with a nice balance of all the flavours though every other flavour except the brown sugar disappear in time, leaving a more neutral flavour in the mouth.
Final Thoughts
Overall a very pleasant and well rounded dram that isn't extremely challenging but has just enough complexity to make it interesting. It's a very approachable rum and the intention here is probably to give the less experienced palate an introduction to a nice Jamaican rum without jumping straight into the deep end with a high ester funk-bomb. However, the aficionados among us will also find it a nice treat.
Details at a Glance
Score Details
 | Details at a GlanceCountry: Multiple |  | 87 | |
Score Criteria | Score Graph | |
NoseAroma: 8 TasteComplexity: 8 | AlcoholAlcohol by mouthfeel: 9 FinishBalance: 9 | |
Other rum reviews:
EKTE Spirits No. 2