Distillerie de Savanna offers you the opportunity to purchase a top scale quality small cask (1-litre or 5-litre capacity) to elaborate famous old rums at your place for a longtime period (over 40 years).

In this chapter, Distillerie de Savanna presents an initiation to the art of maturing old Savanna rums in accordance with the rigor spirit linked to the craftsmanship of Distillerie de Savanna team.

These lines are a mere invitation to share one of our crafted secrets.

The prestigious small cask

This small cask was manufactured by a Craft Master in cooperage. His workshop manufactures high quality oak casks for the most demanding distillers in the world. To conceive this small cask, Distillerie de Savanna had particular specifications in accordance with its own standards for its 400-litre oak-cask fabrication used to produce the old Cap Savanna Rums.
Our selection points to a small cask manufactured with French oak from Limousin, the Quercus Pendunculata, i.e. pedunculate oak characterised by a well-ventiled wood grain allowing active swaps between the rum inside the small cask, the oak of the small cask itself and the environment. The oak murrains trimmed in the heart of the tree underwent a natural fresh air drying for two years.

During its manufacturing, the inside of the small cask was heated so as to let the douelles – wood boards prepared from murrains – get enough flexibility to easily bend it. The heating can reach a temperature of 200° Celsius. What is more, this heating aims at modifying the wood properties and at developing the aromatic credentials of rums which are the direct consequence of the harshness and the intensity of this heating.

Upon our recommendations, your small cask went through a high heating process named “very high toast”. This process guarantees the achievement of an old rum with a stronger vanilla flavour and a lighter tanning savour.

The ratio of contact area between the liquid rum and the oak is twenty to thirty times bigger than the ratio of a 400-litres barrel –capacity used in our spirit storehouse thanks to the specific volume of the small cask (1-litre or 5-litre capacity).
This specific volume enables a more intense maturing process.

Finally, so as to limit the tannic elements volatilisation in the rum being matured, the inside of your small cask were slightly treated with a standard agro food paraffin.

First utilisation

Fill in the small cask with cold water if possible do use low mineralized water. Let it lie filled of water for 24 hours in order to have the wood getting inflated. This operation has to be renewed as many times as necessary until the small cask becomes perfectly waterproof.

Store the small cask in a humid place sheltered from sun and running air.

Wood is a living material very sensitive to changing temperatures and humidity of its environment. Avoid letting your small cask in places where temperature and hygrometry are too likely to vary.
Once these steps attained, fill in your cask with the Savanna Intense 55 rum especially elaborated for maturing.

As of the fourth month of maturing, you can taste a unique matured rum endowed with exquisite savours. During this first tasting, as the small cask is made of new wood, we recommend not to let this rum maturing more than 6 months. As your tasting goes by, you will be able to increase the duration of the maturing process.

After a couple of years of use, you will be able to produce very aged rums as of 10-year old or more.

Please be careful not le let the small cask empty: once empty, the wood is getting dry and the waterproof will be no more guarantee. Thus, try to always keep you small cask fill in with 1/3 of its total capacity.

The spirit storehouse Master's secrets

During its maturing, the Savanna Intense 55 modifies its composition. Its colour characterise its evolution. Starting with a beautiful citrine colour, your rum will enrich its colouration thanks to the volatilisation of extractable oak elements in it. With years, your rum will gain a bright golden colour which will turn into mahogany when it is totally matured.

So as to obtain a warm and sweet rum, we recommend to limit the maturing periods during the first two years. From 4 to 6 months during the first use, from 8 to 12 lonths for the second than 2 to 3 years as time goes by.

To have you extract the most harmonious matured rum, we propose the Savanna Intense with 55°: the ideal assaying to extract voluble materials in water and in alcohol. During maturing, the rum will evaporate.
This loss, named the Angels’ share, is the result of the intense work of maturing: the evaporation through wood boards.

So as to compensate this Angels’ share, we recommend to regularly add small water or Savanna Intense 55 rum quantities.
The addition of water will reduce the level of alcohol of your rum. Thus, at the end of its journey of maturing, your rum will assay between 40 an 49 degrees of alcohol. This process will turn your aged rum all the more smoother.

The Savanna Intense 55 white Rum: ideal for maturing

The Savanna Intense 55 white rum has been specially made by our laboratories and tested by our Spirit Master to enable you to mature at your own place a 1-litre or 5-litreDistillerie de Savanna small cask. This rum has these unique aromatic credentials to assure you a perfect match between your small oak cask and this premium spirit during the all process of maturing. With an alcohol content of 55%, this rum owns the optimum qualities to keep its vigour throughout time compensate the Angel’s share and preserve the balance in flavours.

Available in 70cl bottle or 4.5L bib.

Our range of old Cap Savanna rums has been elaborated from intense traditional white rum.

Ideal for tasting in aperitif or digestive. Drink in moderation, of course.