Swell de Spirits Savanna HERRLINE (Selected by Swell de Spirits) HERR 2009

It is clear from the first whiff: we are dealing with a HERR. Wild, overripe pineapple and mango, strawberries and olives. Wow! On the palate, there's a pleasant crispness. Overripe strawberries, apricots and mangoes again. The tropical 8 years in a cognac barrel round it off successfully. Outstanding release!

Little Savanna GA & HERR cross tasting: On the nose the SdS starts off more towards spices (turmeric) and herbal notes (menthol) while the other contestants have more accentuated fruity notes right from the start. Over (a rather long) time, the SdS gravitates towards the Edition Blanc, while the latter one is more balanced. The SdS retains this little extra accent towards spices. On the palate the fruits clearly take over. Again not as well balanced as the Edition Blanc but with a bit more fruity notes and intensity almost as good in my book. HERRLINE No1 vs. No2: the crown goes to No1. While both noses are very nice No2 lacks intensity on the palate. The additional balance it brings is just not convincing enough to compensate for the lack of HERR power which No1 delivers.

Sensational Savanna, which clearly bears the typical Herr signature, as known from the previous bottlings. Even though it just falls short of the outstanding 2006 LMDW and the 2009 Herr Blanc, it remains an exceptional rum. Complaining at a high level – this release is simply great and definitely belongs in every collection.

Totally awesome HERR and extremely impressive for its 8 years. What stands out in particular are the stone fruit associations which, alongside the usual tropical fruits (pineapple, mango, etc.), tend to be rather rare in intropically matured rums. Above all apricot. The first sip literally explodes and spreads throughout the mouth. An eternally long finish, even though the cask is not over-present on the palate. High complexity. For me the best Savanna so far, or rather my new reference that replaces the 10yo LMDW.

Partial re-tasting Savanna Masterclass 2024: Nose: Ester (but neither Jamaica nor South Africa) Palate: still esters and yes, a bit of strawberry Finish: medium length Alcohol very well integrated. Conclusion: May I say that this rum doesn’t convince me? Yes, I may. I think the emperor has no clothes – and that needs to be said. The rum leans too much towards sour for me. From memory, I prefer the GA 2007 from Rum Nation. And bam: I would even rate the Savanna from barrel #991, tasted alongside, 10 points higher than the HERRLINE. Update 2025-07-22: I have to apologize. The 82 points I gave before aren’t bad in themselves – but 87 points are better. And that’s about what I’d give this rum in today’s tasting. Despite or maybe because of the ultra-tough competition it almost keeps up with: (CdI - Bottled for Germany) RX308, (Paris Blanc) RX20222, (Japan Tribute 1) RX219 and as the undisputed crown, one last sip from the legendary barrel #991.

Incredibly cool and quite typical HERR Grand Arome nose of strawberry, olive brine, tropical fruits and some candied sour currant. Aromatically, the sour currant and some kiwi prevail, along with light vinegar notes, some salty olive brine and then quite a lot of tannins and a nice bitter-sweet spiciness in the finish, reminiscent of grilled caramelized pineapple with molasses or almost pineapple tepatche with cinnamon bark. Here, too, kiwi comes through in terms of this furry, sour-sweet aroma. Really good, complex and delicious!

Another classic, breathtaking HERR. Great bottling. Very balanced and round despite its wildness. Therefore for me just worse than the Japoniani. In direct comparison to the Savanna Blanc, it is much wilder and more brute. A top rum, but I like other HERRS better.

Savanna high ester tasting. A warm, fruity nose where the olive fights with the strawberry, strange as it may seem. Red fruits and a hint of ferment, spice and herbs complete the picture. The palate becomes more powerful, with all the aromas present and persistent, creating a long finish of esters and cedar wood. A complex rum that you clearly want to taste again and again. Tasted again and again, it seems less interesting. It has to be said that this time it's in direct comparison with some very fine Savannas.

Edit: Savanna Masterclass by RumX on 27.09.2024 Thank you for the opportunity to taste these great rums side by side. Now there have been a few more changes for some. Savanna is more complex than expected. Kirsch Cruise Berlin 2024 So here it is, the oh-so-hard-to-get Savanna, which is far too expensive on the secondary market here. In the end, it's quite "nice", but in my opinion a little overrated in the ratings.

Post-tasting Masterclass Savanna high Ester. Now the two highlights, the HERRLINE is truly impressive. Great nose, esters and tropical fruit, but also sweet for me. Also esters and tropical fruits on the palate, but the barrel also comes to the fore. Really great savanna.

Savanna Masterclass High Ester: Almost identical to HERR Blanc Paris... but a little wilder, more impetuous and direct. The aromas come across with full force and press their stamp firmly into the palate... making the finish beautifully long and intense... first class. If I had to choose between the Blanc Paris and this one... I'd go for the HERRline, despite the elegance of the Blanc Paris

How I was looking forward to this bottling... I was not disappointed. Wonderfully fruity ester-heavy red fruits, pineapple a real bomb of smell and taste simply delicious and intense. Just my cup of tea. Very very cool in a daiquiri!

Savanna High Ester Masterclass: The Herrline delivers as you would expect. Fruits (red) without end with wood, olive and some menthol. Very nice. You can argue about the price, but it's delicious. Also more typical (in my eyes) than the Blanc Paris.

Sehr komplex und sehr eigenes Profil. Vollmundige Sache auf alle Fälle. Aprikose, Mango Chutney, etwas von Parfum, geröstete Gerste, fruchtig-beerig mit Fasseinfluss. Alkohol ist nicht schmeckbar. Das Überreife ist da aber überhaupt nicht „laut“ sondern sehr angenehm präsent. Der Abgang hält wahnsinnig lange.

WoW! Really a great bottling😍 Estery, lovely, fruity, gummi bears, red fruits, delicious, full bodied, yummy yumm yumm😎🥃 The alcohol is integrated perfectly. Unfortunately, you can‘t find it anymore under 400€ 😭