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Velier Nine Leaves Russian Virgin Oak 2017
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"You either love it or hate it," as one member puts it — this Japanese pot-still splits the difference between rum, agricole and mezcal. Herbs, mint and sugarcane lead, with dried plum, resinous wood and a medicinal, almost iodine edge underneath. At 58% it runs hot and a touch wild, and several tasters wish the alcohol were better integrated. Original, if not the most refined of the Nine Leaves set.
The community says- Unusual herbal profile
- Sugarcane freshness
- But: Hot at 58%
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The look inside the bottle
How does Velier Nine Leaves Russian Virgin Oak 2017 taste?
Summarized by AI from 56 community reviews.
Herbal, medicinal Japanese rum with a wild streak Most land on "interesting but not refined" — the herbal, medicinal character wins fans, though many note the raw heat and call it the weaker cask of the series.
drinkers who chase unusual, herbal, off-beat spirits
anyone wanting classic sweet Caribbean rum
Style & occasion: Fresh & grassySipping neat
Full aroma profile Aroma families · nose & palate · top aromas
22 of 56 left detailed tasting impressions · Click an aroma to explore similar rums
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56 community reviews
27 selected write-ups on this page, all of them in the RumX app
Top 25% of Japan rums
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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 LukaŽiga
Most helpful positive review
8,6:On the nose, sugarcane, herbaceous, minty and flowery, peaches, sweet green apples and prunes, juniper, perhaps resinous wood, slightly roasted, smoky with dark chocolate, nuts, spicy with allspice, bump into our nosetrils. On aeration, medicinal notes like rubber are out, barrel impact is strong with pastry, caramel, citrus fruits, as the cane becomes candied, peppery, perhaps some anise could be noticed. 8,6:On the palate, the attack is warm, spicy, with herbal, flowery sugarcane, vegetal with olive, roasted wood notes like butterscotch, pastry, nuts and chocolate, later resinous, as spices are strong with pepper, perhaps allspice, chilli, salty, with hints of umami.The fruits are yellow and dried like raisins, apricots, when the rum is well rested, lime shows up, medicinal notes, perhaps like rubber. 8,4:The finish is long, dry, oaky, with slightly sweet sugar cane, fresh, herbaceous and earthy, pairing dried and citrus fruits, roasted wood notes, still quite spicy, salty. Edit:19.4.26
Review by Kevin Sorensen 🇩🇰
Most helpful mixed review
#4841 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 Medium intense, fruity, prunes, light apple, light wood, faint smoke, sugarcane, light medicinal, faint mint. Palate Warm, light wood, herbal, light vegetal, fresh, faint salt, sugarcane, faint olive, fruity. Finish Medium to long, light wood, fresh, sugarcane, spice, light mint, faint citrus. 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 Thunderbird
The last Nine Leaves series: I find the nose to be very fruity with apple and yellow fruit. I also perceive something vinous and sugar cane. On the palate, a little sweetness at the beginning that leads relatively into a mixture of umami, fruit, fresh vegetable and wine. A bitter note joins in at the end, which also accompanies the finish with spices. A very successful bottling
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 Jarek
Whisky Live Paris 2024 (trade fair evaluation, only overall rating and personal recommendation to buy): Again, the special profile of the entire Nine Leaves range present, but all less intense and coherent. I don't need to buy a bottle. Small Nine Leaves Cross Tasting - 2025-03-11: Again, my impression of WLP24 is confirmed, solid and interesting, but not outstanding.
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. This one is still relatively discreet with the unpleasant notes. Unfortunately, as with all of them, the alcohol is poorly integrated, otherwise there would be more here.
Review by TheRhumhoe
A wild Nine Leaves with character. The nose is intense, woody, smoky and spicy to the point of warming the nostrils. A touch of salt joins the herbaceous and medicinal aromas, which are also quite present. The fruitiness comes through with prune, while sugarcane adds a little creaminess to this rough, animal profile. Not bad, but lacks coherence between flavors. The attack on the palate is lively, marked by a duel between spices (pepper, salt) and vegetal, herbaceous, almost peaty notes. Dried fruit and lime meet medicinal notes and sugarcane in a jumble of flavors. The profile is warm and dry, a little unbalanced with alcohol, but has the merit of offering something different in the traditional world of rum. The finish is of medium length, but leans more towards vegetal and medicinal bitterness than the fruity side (lime-style citrus and dried fruit). Overall, the profile is harsh and beastly, certainly original, but the Russian oak cask doesn't seem the most appropriate. It remains to be seen what this kind of ageing might do to other types of rum.
Review by Serge
Like the rest of the range, this one also can’t convince me – in the taste part. Nine Leaves and I won’t be friends... actually I’m quite glad about that. Others can fight over it.
Review by Tim
Sehr angenehme Nase wie nach altem Rum oder Cognac. Fass, Traube, Pflaume, Schokolade, Nuss. Leider wirkt der Rum im Mund etwas ungestüm, sehr scharf, Kräuter, trocken und saure Früchte. Abgang geht wieder voll in Ordnung, sehr angenehm und vielfältig.
Review by Nils123
Admittedly, it has quite unusual aromas. But for me, it's tasty and well done.
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 TheJackDrop
Tasted at Whisky Live Paris 2024 - quick tasting notes, you've been warned. Another twit with this cask adding notes that were unknown to me. Lack of tasting notes, quite herbal and medicinal as I recall.
Review by Timo Groeger
Store visit Rhum Attitude Brussels May 2025. Taken along as a sample. The third one that the salesman really celebrated. We don't quite agree on this one. Very herbal and medicinal on the nose. Lots of herbs on the palate too, very herbal and a little olive. Good but not very good.
Review by Giuseppe Ambrosio
Some like it and some don't, I like it a lot, I recognize right away that it's a Nine Leaves! The finish in ex Russian virgin oak gives it more color than a distinctive trait, which in my opinion comes from the sake, the thing that distinguishes all Nine Leaves, slightly acidic notes and unique yeasts. I find it just a bit wild. In the glass it is quite viscous and on the nose it is well defined with floral and herbal tones. On the palate a bit sharp and you can really taste the sake aftertaste but I don't mind it. After half an hour it is gentler. I find a lot of Nine Leaves in this dram.
Review by DomM
On the nose this one give bourbon vibes to me. Vanilla, some sweetness and candied fruits. Still some „heavy“ herbs in there, but way more nuanced than the American oak barrel of the same age. On the palate, the comparison versus the bourbon cask bottling is somewhat reversed. The virgin oak cask feels more mature and woody, yet also way less lively and more tamed overall. Still very good, however, less complex and interesting versus the sister cask.
Review by Thibault
A particularly surprising rum, very liqueur-like, which draws a true connection with shochu, plum liqueur and sweet sake! We are very (very) far from the Caribbean, but I like it :-). This may also evoke for some the Muscat, Gewürztraminer or Jurançon! It brings a bit of diversity to a bar where rum profiles can sometimes be close to each other.
Review by Mirco
Strong Japanese rum with a clear herbal and medicinal profile. On the nose, dried plums, light apple and mint notes, slightly woody and a bit smoky. On the palate, a warm, vegetal character dominates with hints of citrus and sugarcane. The finish is medium-length, spicy, with a slight menthol aftertaste. A bit less intense than other Nine Leaves releases, but distinctive and multifaceted.
Review by LesTontonsMaltés
Incredible aromatic! WLP24
Review by Michal Jurka
Generally I fancy japanese rums. This one only confirms it. It is quite fresh, sweet, soury, salty at the same time, sugar cane, very medicinal and mineral, light smoke, light continental, yellow fruits, light wine, herbal. Really love this.
Review by Oliver
Still a little wild on the palate.
Review by Gasparini Andrea
On the nose it seems more like a whisky, aromatic herbs, sweet, marshmallow, caramel and always aromatic herbs.
Review by DutchRumPirate
Typical Nine Leaves notes emerge. It's hard to describe, and you can either love it or hate it. The barrel also comes forward a bit with this one. The notes are mid-range. It's not complex or full-bodied. More monotonous. I have mixed feelings about this one. But nice to taste between all the other rums.
Review by Adrianv
Grassy:) it has its style, but missing complexity, seems to me rather simple, alcohol could be integrated better, salty, spicy .. but I like to try spirits which stick out...
Review by crazyforgoodbooze
Nose: Red and green apple, incense, sandalwood and various herbs like mint and sage. Very spicy and fresh. Taste: very fresh and slightly medicinal with a subtle bitter sweetness. Eucalyptus, lime peel, green olives in brine, burnt hay, iodine ointment and dried fruits like raisins and figs, as well as subtly salty. Like mixing cold balm and iodine ointment with raisins, quite a wild mix. Not bad but doesn't really suit my taste. I think the alcohol integration is very good.
Review by Mentalo
Nine Leaves Russian Virgin für mich eine der schwächeren Abfüllungen. Vor allem der Alkohol ist nicht so gut eingebunden und teils mit sprittigen Fehlnoten. Die typischen Nine Leaves sind auch schwächer ausgeprägt.
Review by Buddudharma
Also here a clear improvement over the Last Drops. However, I like the American Oak of the same age better because it's less herbal and bitter in the finish. Overall, the Russian Oak is also too close to whisky for me.
Review by Richard Krupa
Ve vuni i chuti hodne prevazuji "zeleninove" a bylinkove tony, pomerne vyrazny stred a delsi zaver
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Community shelf
43 bottles logged by 38 collectors.
A collector's bottle.
11% opened, 1 emptied.
What did the community pay for Velier Nine Leaves Russian Virgin Oak 2017?
Community paid 129–223 €.
Purchase prices reported by members, not a shop price. Avg. 174 €. Full price & collection history in RX+ →
43 purchased · 56 tasted · 9 wishlist · as of
Details about Velier Nine Leaves Russian Virgin Oak 2017
A rum from Japan, bottled by Velier, at 58%.
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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