Aroma visualization from community tastings
Holmes Cay Savanna Réunion Island Grand Arôme Rum No. 3 2023
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Most tasters land on "wildly interesting" rather than easy — this is olive brine, nail polish remover and salty herbs from the first sniff, and it barely reads like rum. One reviewer calls it "a dirty martini in a bottle" with a lemon twist. Behind the acetone there's overripe tropical fruit, mint and a metallic, sour edge. At 57.5% it's loud, savory and completely singular.
The community says- Olive-brine funk
- Loud and unique
- But: Very savory
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The look inside the bottle
How does Holmes Cay Savanna Réunion Island Grand Arôme Rum No. 3 2023 taste?
Summarized by AI from 34 community reviews.
Savory olive-brine funk, more curiosity than sipper Members agree it's a fascinating, one-of-a-kind pour that stretches what rum can be — the caveat being those olive-brine and acetone notes are savory enough to lose some drinkers.
funk chasers who want the strange stuff
anyone wanting a sweet, easy sipper
Style & occasion: Fresh & grassySipping neatCocktails & mixing
Full aroma profile Aroma families · nose & palate · top aromas
13 of 34 left detailed tasting impressions · Click an aroma to explore similar rums
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Community voices
What does the community say?
34 community reviews
13 selected write-ups on this page, all of them in the RumX app
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Ranges include their upper bound: “7–8” means above 7 up to and including 8. See the full rating guide
Positive from 8.0 · Mixed 6.0–7.9 · Critical below 6.0
Review by Kevin Sorensen 🇩🇰
Most helpful positive review
#5394 13.06.2025 Enjoying a few samples to the beats of Psy-Fi Festival 2025. Nose Fresh, medium intense, fruity, light berries, light citrus, sugarcane, faint plastic. Palate Fresh, medium intense, fruity, naturally sweet, light metallic, olive, light mint, faint salt, light mango, cherry, light floral. Finish Long and warm, fruity, light citrus, light anise, berries. Empty glass Citrus, light licorice, light manto, light strawberry, faint metallic.
Review by RumCzar
Most helpful critical review
This rum was a huge disappointment. I heard great things about the Grand Arome, and I thought it would compare favorably to Jamaica hogo, but the Grand Arome is way to savory for me. It's flavor reminds me of hot dogs and pickles and witch hazel. That's not a flavor I want from my rum. Sorry folks! I won't rebuy.
Review by Beancheese
What a wild ride this rum is. Right away the nose hit me with olive brine and nail polish remover, so much so that I almost couldn’t get past it. I could try to find other notes hiding behind there but it was just so overwhelmingly true to those two items that it felt like I was ‘trying’ to find something more. Both of these notes hold true and dominate on the palate as well, although this funky rum has a bit more going on. Behind the salty olive brine and acetone there was also permanent marker, a bit of something peaty or smoky, some mild licorice like spice. This was a wildly interesting way to sample my first rum from Reunion but I would never catch myself drinking this as a regular sipper. I think an imaginative mixer could make great use of this in a cocktail however and it is perfect for nerding out. I will score it 6.5 because it’s just not my palate if I was looking for something to enjoy sipping - but it’s so curious and fun that the ‘experience’ of trying it could be 8+
Review by abaker-rum
I was a bit surprised by this rum since it is my first molasses based rum that has all of the notes I expect from an agricole. It’s briny with a strong nose of olive and nail polish. Those notes carry throughout, but there are added herbal notes that round out the taste in a pleasant way.
Review by Martin Ekrt
A very wild scent, I'd guess some Haitian Clairin. Olives at first, meaty saltiness, later downright herbal schnapps. Taste-wise, it's wild, too. Full of herbs and vegetable elements, saltiness. Very interesting stuff for lovers of weirdness.
Review by ManuelP
Extremely elegant version of the wild olive brine direction rum can go. Wow. Also strong nail polish remover. Also I’m shocked this is a molasses column still. World upside down.
Review by Tomáš Jankovský
A very fragrant funky rum with an interesting taste and aroma. Pleasant to taste.
Review by Ian Gilman
My second Grand Arôme (after the Aficionados Le Galion) and my first taste of Savanna. I do prefer the meatier profile and finish of the Le Galion to the cough syrup-y notes of the Savanna. I love the intensity and that you can smell this bottle across the room, but upon revisiting this bottle, the medicinal and industrial notes are overwhelming. I like when those flavors compliment something else but aren’t the focal point. Not a bad price point but doesn’t compare to La Galion.
Review by Doctor Luke
A beautiful rum, one of the most beautiful and unique bottles in the US market. Incredibly loud olives and brine - almost a dirty martini in a bottle, but with a lemon twist. Indeed I've gone through two of these bottles by having it made into a martini by skilled bartenders. Yes, a rum martini. But this is the one you can do it with without being completely insane. It expands your imagination as to what rum can be.
Review by Rob Balazs
So nice to see a Grand Arôme in the states! Nose is fruity, tropical, with a funky, nutty(?) note that is hard to place. Palate is full of overripe tropical fruit, and fleeting mint or menthol? I could very much see adding this to a Jamaican rum for a Mai Tai
Review by Benjamin Campbell
Enjoyed with Eric at the ORS event. Truly spectacular.
Review by Kieron Wood
Rumfest 2023 tasting so notes were brief One of the best samples at the event
Review by Richard Colwell
Strong nose with notes of olive, brine, solvents, varnish, leaning in the sour direction. The palate is similar to the nose with mild sweetness and intense chemical notes and sourness. Finish is lasting, towards a metallic aftertaste. Definitely an opinionated, interesting rum, but not for everyone.
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Community shelf
37 bottles logged by 35 collectors.
Both drunk and collected.
32% opened, 2 emptied.
What did the community pay for Holmes Cay Savanna Réunion Island Grand Arôme Rum No. 3 2023?
Community paid 43–70 €.
Purchase prices reported by members, not a shop price. Avg. 51 €. Full price & collection history in RX+ →
37 purchased · 34 tasted · 11 wishlist · as of
Details about Holmes Cay Savanna Réunion Island Grand Arôme Rum No. 3 2023
A White Rum from Reunion, bottled by Holmes Cay, at 57.5%.
About the Savanna distillery
The Savanna distillery is located in Reunion. Rums from Savanna have been reviewed 8,549 times with an average of 8.3/10.
To Savanna →Read on in the RumX Guide
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