Aroma visualization from community tastings
Chairman‘s Reserve Vintage 2009
One reviewer calls this "one of my all time favorite," and others land near it — but this 2009 Saint Lucia vintage is a wood-and-tobacco rum first, fruit second. Expect dry oak, smoke, leather, charred notes and a little iodine and brine, with caramel and dried fruit underneath. At 46% several found the flavors a touch muted, wishing for more punch.
The community says- Tobacco and leather
- Smoky, cigar-friendly
- Light on fruit
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Buy Chairman‘s Reserve Vintage 2009:
Compare all 6 shop offers from 47.79 €
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The look inside the bottle
How does Chairman‘s Reserve Vintage 2009 taste?
Aggregated from 83 community reviews.
Dry, smoky oak-and-tobacco sipper Divisive within the Chairman's lineup. Fans love the smoky, tobacco-and-oak "gentleman-ish" character; others find it too charred, salty and less fruity than the 2005, with heat cutting into the flavor.
Cigar pairers and fans of dry, smoky, wood-forward rum
People who want a fruity, sweet Saint Lucia
How the community classifies this rum. Each category takes you to similar rums.
42 of 83 left detailed tasting impressions · Click an aroma to explore similar rums
How is Chairman‘s Reserve Vintage 2009 rated?
RumX’s 0–10 scale is strict: 7.9 sits in the “Good” band. 90% of tasters rate it Good or better; only 0% rate it below average. See the full rating guide →
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Community voices
What does the community say?
65% rate it between 6 and 8. 19 selected write-ups from 83 community ratings. You can view the complete list in our app.
Review by DJ Wolfson
I’ve enjoyed just about every bottle from Chairman’s Reserve but this is my favorite sipper. Very smooth and easy to drink. The smell is sweet and almost confectionery, but not in an additive way. The kick of alcohol is short and quickly overpowered by a rounded blend of roasted nuts and fruits. So far I’ve tried it in a El Presidente (my goto for aged rums) and it was good. But the subtleties of this drink are expectedly drowned out. So that’s probably the first and last time I’ll use this for that spec.
Review by Stefan Persson
Overall an powerful, complex, fruity, spicy and smoky rum. Bought two bottles of this rum from Svet Nápojov in Slovakia. The brand Chairman’s Reserve from Saint Lucia Distillers (SLD) saw the day of light in 1999 under supervision of Laurie Barnard, and is today their most appreciated rum if you ask me. SLD use molasses imported from the Dom. Rep. and some sugar cane juice from sugar cane grown in Saint Lucia. They use open tanks for fermentation and four different stills, one Coffey column and three different pot stills. All their rum is tropically aged on site mostly in ex-Bourbon casks, but sometimes also in Port casks. The 2009 is their second released vintage. It’s entirely molasses based distilled in their Coffey Still and two of the pot stills (John Dore II & Vendome). Thereafter the different distillates was aged separately for 11 years in ex-Bourbon casks whereafter it was blended and married for some more weeks before bottled at ABV 46%.
Review by Thomas Renoud
One of my all time favorite
Review by Roman Staroń
Good quality. Fairly short xapach and flavor finish. To sit with a cigar but of low strength.
Review by LukaŽiga
8,5:The nose of this rum brings us nougat garnished with fatty nuts. Among them, peanut, almond, walnut with a light layer of varnish. The vanilla, caramel and some sweet spices continue to fill the wood, giving it a definitively melting side.Aeration gives us more roasted side with iodized, smoky/tobacco, resinous, even briny notes, then herbal notes and very ripe exotic fruits, whose fermentation releases a certain acidity with some orange peel. These fruits become thicker, dried and sweeter, complementing pastry notes in the end. 8,5:The palate is perfectly balanced between the two facets from the nose, but also from the point of the power of the attack. The heat is delightful and quite gourmand. The very ripe exotic like banana and dried, red fruits(especially prunes are intense)give way to oily citrus peels, which feed on sweet spices, candied roasted nuts and nice earthy peat, bacon along the way.There are also some vegetal, medicinal, metallic, briny notes and finally milk chocolate . 8,2:The finish is fruity, syrupy as pastry-like, buttery, with cherry pits and raisins, dry, the wood is toasted, some smoke stays, the chocolate is dark now. Really nice rhum🙂👌.
Review by Kevin Sorensen 🇩🇰
#5169 28.03.2025 Running through some samples at home. Nose Medium intense, wood, light roasted, spice, faint smoke, light leather, dried fruit, light plum. Palate Warm, medium dry, wood, light roasted, faint chocolate, raisin, light leather, light tobacco, faint caramel, light nutts. Finish Long and warm, medium dry, wood, faint smoke, dried fruit, light leather, light nutts. Empty glass Chocolate, light caramel, vanilla, light prunes, light banana.
Review by Martin Švojgr
Terribly interesting tobacco taste with a sweet slightly sour skin. In the aroma I smell tobacco together with a floral fragrance - could it be roses? In taste, the sour skin reminds me of bacon after a while. A very interesting sample.
Review by Mateusz
Simply one of the most enjoyable aged rums I tried. Complex flavour notes and lovely balanced. Quality aged. Dry, sour and smoky. Incredible value!
Review by Sebas143
Tasted at German rum festival Best of chairman's reserve I have tasted so far.
Review by Christoph
Lots of tobacco and coal paired with some lime. Not mine, but qualitatively good rum.
Review by Nivius
Unfortunately, not as good as the 2005 that got me hooked on St. Lucia. However, the St. Lucia glue is nicely present, as are the first woody notes, which are already becoming more complex. It's great in drinks and it's also delicious when drunk neat.
Review by Filip Heimerle
Admittance more delicate
Review by Matej
After long pause finally I have time to sit and try my newest bottle. Aroma is very sweet at first, I noticed hints of honey, raisins and banana. What I like about this one is that smoly/woody/tabacco tones, which males this rum much more “gantleman-ish”. But…. Taste is something different. It’s acts like this is not the same rum at all. There is hint of some fruit (really do not know which one), but there is much strong flavor of spice, tabacco, smoke, cigars, I would like to say almost charcuterie (smoked meat), but in a good way. Finish is quite long with buttery/creamy hints but those tabacco/smoke flavors are still dominant. Very nice “come back” for me. It is very nice rum for sipping.
Review by Boletus
Als die Flasche frisch geöffnet war, fand ich diesen Saint Lucia doch ein wenig anstrengend. Die ein oder andere alkoholische Spitze machte sich bemerkbar und im Mund war er für mich fast schon überholzt. Mit sinkendem Füllstand haben sich diese Wogen aber zunehmend geglättet. Der Rum besitzt zwar immer noch einen kräftigen Eicheneinfluss und auch der Alkohol blitzt ab und zu noch durch, jedoch entwickelt er trotz des etwas dünnen und trockenen Abgangs ein harmonisches und erstaunlich komplexes Aromengefüge mit angenehmer Trinkbarkeit.
Review by Tim
Lots of smoke, tobacco and wood on the nose, less fruit than the 2005. In the mouth spicy, smoky
Review by w00tAN
Brussels Rhum Festival 2024 Nose is rich and spicy. Taste first sweet then tobacco and strongly burnt/roasted. Medium-long bitter, toasty, salty finish with herbal tea at the end. Definitely behind the 2005 and for 60 euros the competition is no longer so small.
Review by Stepan Sonnar
Definitely a good rum, but I must admit I was expecting it would be better, after tasting Chairman’s cheapest rum in the lineup. Pretty interesting on a nose, but a little to alcoholic. Not as intensive flavour as you may expect from 46%. Doorly’s 14 is much more intensive on the nose with similar strenth (47%). Interesting taste with some smoky notes. Not as strong as in Lag or Laphroaig, just a comfortable amount of smokiness for the rum. Also has some wood and leather. Tastes good, but the taste is hiding behind tha alcohol burn. There is a plenty of overproof rums with much more % that don’t bother you with alcohol fighting with taste notes. So, definitely a good rum, but not the one who can steal your heart. :)
Review by HenryL
Tasted at the Hanse Spirit 2024 Solid rum, but in comparison to other vintages such as the 2005 bottlings, this one has to take a back seat. There is too much of a charred note for me. Bacony on the nose, iodine on the palate. A citrus note similar to the German Edition.
Review by Henry Davies
The nose is fairly inviting, some glue and nail polish alongside woody and barrel influence. On the mouth it has some fire power, with iodine, salty olive brine and some caramel taking a back seat. The finish has more olive and salt with a woody spicy element that builds as the finish tapers off. It’s better than the 2005 for me as more brash and interesting but lacks the finesse of the Master’s Selection picks. Solid youthful SLD rum
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Expert reviews
Reviews from RumX's blog partners, independent experts who have tasted, evaluated, and described this rum..
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Details about Chairman‘s Reserve Vintage 2009
A Pot & Column Still Rum from Saint Lucia, distilled by Saint Lucia Distillers, at 46%.
Community purchases
91 bottles logged by 87 collectors.
A drinker's rum.
37% opened, 14 emptied and repurchased.
What does Chairman‘s Reserve Vintage 2009 cost?
Community paid 45–77 €.
Current best price: 47.79 € – within the typical community range.
What members actually paid for their bottles. A typical range, not the current shop price. Full price & collection history in RX+ →
91 purchased · 86 tasted · 35 wishlist · as of
About the Saint Lucia Distillers distillery
The Saint Lucia Distillers distillery is located in Saint Lucia. Rums from Saint Lucia Distillers have been reviewed 4,768 times with an average of 8.2/10.
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Chairman’s Reserve 1931 2017
Chairman’s Reserve 1931 2017Balanced, round Saint Lucia sipper, short finish
Chairman‘s Reserve Master‘s Selection (German Edition) 2011
Chairman‘s Reserve Master‘s Selection (German Edition) 2011Spicy, dried-fruit Saint Lucian single cask
Chairman’s Reserve The Forgotten Casks
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Chairman‘s Reserve Vintage 2011
Chairman‘s Reserve Vintage 2011Fruity, spicy Saint Lucia sipper with wood
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