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Velier Nine Leaves American Oak 2016
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Sipped neat at 59%, it drinks dry and green — sugarcane, walnut, honey and a mint edge, with candied fruit and vanilla from the American oak. Several tasters reach for Armagnac or even agricole-meets-mezcal to describe it. The nose wins most people over; on the palate the spice and heat push harder, and a few find the alcohol not quite tucked in. One of the more characterful of the Nine Leaves set.
The community says- Armagnac-like character
- Dry, green profile
- But: Hot on palate
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The look inside the bottle
How does Velier Nine Leaves American Oak 2016 taste?
Summarized by AI from 48 community reviews.
Dry, green Japanese rum with Armagnac leanings Most rate it well — a distinctive, dry Japanese pour that fans of the distillery enjoy. If you want the alcohol seamlessly integrated, the palate runs hot for some.
fans of Japanese rum and dry, vegetal profiles
anyone wanting soft, sweet, easy-sipping rum
Style & occasion: Fresh & grassySipping neat
Full aroma profile Aroma families · nose & palate · top aromas
18 of 48 left detailed tasting impressions · Click an aroma to explore similar rums
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48 community reviews
20 selected write-ups on this page, all of them in the RumX app
Top 14% of Japan rumsTop 21% at Nine Leaves
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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 cigares
Most helpful positive review
A rum tasted at Whisky Live in Paris in 2024. The nose features tropical fruit, banana and dried fruit. Vegetal notes add freshness. Lively on the palate, then the fruit becomes more powerful. A slight dip on the palate, the alcohol comes through a little, then the dried fruit lingers on the finish. A fine Nine Leaves, but far less interesting, for my taste, than the 10-year-old.
Review by Thunderbird
Most helpful mixed review
Nine Leaves Series No.3 On the nose I perceive honey, vanilla, something nutty and slightly vinous tropical fruits. That fits. On the palate, there's initially a distinctive sweetness followed by a peppery, roasted side... I also notice a hint of citrus fruit. The finish is on the spicy side. Overall, the whole thing doesn't really harmonize in my opinion. Too bad
Review by Kevin Sorensen 🇩🇰
#4840 Whisky Live in Paris 27.09.2024-30.09.2024. Another great event meeting a lot of RumX new and old friends. This year three weren't as many new releases as in 2023, but I still had a great time. Nose Fresh, light vegetal, faint nutts, light banana, light mint, faint iodine, light honey. Palate Medium intense, fruits, light honey, light citrus, light vegetal, light floral, sugarcane, light banana, faint coconut. Finish Long and warm, fruits, citrus, light coconut, faint ginger, medium spicy, light floral. These bottles Mark the end of Nine Leaves in Japan and it's pretty sad because he really knew how to make and mature rum. If you get the chance you should try out the five releases which are pretty similar and still pretty different.
Review by zabo
In the test today were the canidates from the Bourbon, Russian and American (2016) barrel. I couldn't really taste any major differences, and they are all very similar. All in all, none of the three really blew me away. If I had to give a ranking, it would look like this: RX21838 RX21835 RX21836
Review by LukaŽiga
8,4:On the nose, sugarcane, minty, spicy and salty roasted wood, oaky, with nuts, butterscotch, dark chocolate, banana and dried fruits, hints of iodine, bump into our nosetrils. On aeration, the cane becomes flowery, grassy, vegetal with mushrooms, tea, sweet with honey and the wood slightly resinous, fruitcake and gingerbread hints are also present. 8,5:On the palate, the attack is intense, slightly bitter with flowery sugarcane, later sweet with honey, peppery, roasted wood notes like butterscotch, nuts, cookie, spicy with chilli, vanilla, salty, fruity with dried, citrus fruits and tropical like banana, coconut.On oxidation, the cane becomes vegetal with tea, slightly mineral. 8,4:The finish is long, dry, with the palate notes lingering on. Edit:17.4.26
Review by Leo Krüper
Strange notes in this set that I find difficult to describe. With the original Nine Leaves, they were not so present to me. It reminds me most of yeast spirit from beer breweries. There is also a cedar note here that is too present and almost pungent.
Review by Jarek
Whisky Live Paris 2024 (fair rating, only overall score and personal purchase recommendation): Here too the special profile of the entire Nine Leaves range is present and overall the third best bottling of it. But I still don't need a bottle. Small Nine Leaves cross tasting - 2025-03-11: For this one I have to slightly lower my rating compared to WLP24. The 21838 from the bourbon cask I like a bit better this time.
Review by DomM
More balanced on the nose versus the younger bottlings from the set. Sweetness, (candied) fruits, a hint of spearmint, some honey and vanilla from the cask. Nice! On the palate a bit more complexity than the one year younger bottlings. Rich honey sweetness with noticeable bourbon influence. Retains a floral character with some spices at the edges.
Review by Mirco
Successful bottling from Japan, which scores with freshness, light herbal notes and a subtle fruity sweetness. Some green apple, citrus and a fine spice accompany the pleasantly structured body. Fun and stands out from the standard.
Review by Dr.Django
last drops: Vegetable, grassy and smoky. Tastes like a cross between Agricole and Mezcal. Interesting and delicious. 81 pts. 2017 bourbon barrel 7yr: The nose is very good, very intense bourbon. Also very bourbon-heavy on the palate, the other flavors are somewhat lost in the poorly integrated alcohol. Fresh fruit emerges on the finish. 72 pts. russian oak: Much fuller-bodied and more intense on the palate. Dried fruit, wood and leather, plus an interesting sweet note that I can't quite put my finger on. The finish is medium-long and warm. However, the alcohol could also be better integrated here. 75 pts. american oak 2016: Very similar to the Bourbon Barrell on the nose. On the palate, the smoothest so far with well-integrated alcohol. The finish is medium-long, dry with dried red fruits and wood. 78 pts. ex-american oak 2014: Interestingly fruity with a similar sweetness that I can barely define. Something with caramel and fruit jelly from Bonn. The alcohol is well integrated, the finish is medium-long and dry. 79 pts. All interesting bottlings that don't live up to their hype in my opinion. Although the hype is more about the history of the distillery and not about the taste of the rums. Which doesn't surprise me after the small tasting.
Review by crazyforgoodbooze
Nase: reife Banane und frisch geknackte Walnüsse, etwas Minze, sowie Traubenmost und Jod. Erinnert mich sehr an Armagnac! Geschmack: Starke Armagnac Assoziationen. Banane und Traube, Walnüsse, Trockenobst, sowie Honig, Zimt und intensive Eichenfass Noten und Tannine. Im Abgang kommen Ingwer, frischer Szechuan Pfeffer, Ceylon Zimt und Zitrusfrüchte sowie geröstete Kokosnuss dazu, außerdem floral und pflanzlich, sowie leider auch leicht modrig. Alles aber in einem sehr trockenen Gewand mit sehr wenig Süße, aber dennoch angenehm zu trinken. 8y Reifung könnte man hier blind schnell auf einige Jahre mehr tippen. Blind wäre ich eher bei Saint James. Der Unterschied zu den beiden 7y alten ist enorm! Erinnert mich stark an die alten encrypted Nine leaves bei denen ich manche wirklich stark fand. Insgesamt der Komplexeste würde ich sagen.
Review by Tim
Nose very much like vanilla, spices, roasted aromas, oak wood, candied fruits, apples, a bit of cocoa and herbs. On the palate very similar, citrus fruits, vanilla, wood, spiciness, spices. Also vanilla, fruits, herbs/tea and honey linger. Solid rum.
Review by Serge
Phew... I just can't understand the fascination for these rums. With the malty fruit of whiskies combined with Agricole notes, they combine everything I don't like about rums. This one is even worse than the ex-bourbon.
Review by Adrianv
This one is not as good as Ex American Oak.. less rounded, simple, narrow.. It does deliver nice bitter floral aftertaste, so overall fine with me.
Review by Carlitooo
Schöne Nine Leaves ID
Review by Pavel Ungr, RumRock
Vintage 2016. With 8.2 out of 10, it's a very good bottle, though not the top of my ranking.
Review by TheRhumhoe
This is the Nine Leaves that least convinced me of the Velier range presented at Whisky Live 2024. The nose is interesting, however, with earthy, vegetal and animal notes (musk), iodized sugarcane, dried fruit (grapes, prunes) and spices coming to the fore, along with oak and walnuts. The nose is powerful, but offers beautiful fragrances on olfaction. On the palate, the rum becomes strong, alcoholic, very hot with spices and oak, and therefore less pleasant. Vegetal notes, citrus and the sweeter, honeyed side of the cane don't compensate in the balance of power. Despite some fine aromas, the profile remains unbalanced and lacks finesse. The finish leaves the impression of a hot potato on the palate, with spices (chili, pepper) and notes of earth and peat dominating. Some citrus and dried fruit are discernible, but the profile remains aggressive compared to other vintages. A brutal Nine Leaves, less well constructed than its peers despite its undeniable terroir quality.
Review by Michal Jurka
I don't know what it is but Japanese rums just strike the right chord in me. The nose here is beautifuly sweet with "traditional" turkish sweet made of sugar, honey and nuts. More aeration brings out even more confectionery/pastry notes. Taste is leaning toward fresher spectrum with sugar cane, yellow fruits and vegetal notes.
Review by Alan Bertoli
Delicate scent of vanilla, honey, citrus, and dried fruit like almond on the nose. Much more intense on the palate. Lemon and pepper are very present and intense, maybe a bit too much. The alcohol is also very sharp. Light note of nutmeg. I like it on the nose, less so in the mouth. Medium and spicy finish.
Review by Buddudharma
I like the increasing barrel aging, also because the basic character is somewhat neutralized by the barrel notes and additional depth and complexity are added. So quite interesting already.
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Community shelf
13 bottles logged by 13 collectors.
A collector's bottle.
7% opened, 1 emptied.
What did the community pay for Velier Nine Leaves American Oak 2016?
Community paid 166–345 €.
Purchase prices reported by members, not a shop price. Avg. 180 €. Full price & collection history in RX+ →
13 purchased · 50 tasted · 28 wishlist · as of
Details about Velier Nine Leaves American Oak 2016
A rum from Japan, bottled by Velier, at 59%.
About the Nine Leaves distillery
The Nine Leaves distillery is located in Japan. Rums from Nine Leaves have been reviewed 865 times with an average of 8.0/10.
To Nine Leaves →Read on in the RumX Guide
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