Bitter topic: Wolfie discovers tannin tastes & aromas!

[Capn Jimbo]

Stick this up yer nose...


Check out these exerpts listed on Google...

Google:"I am catching... oak tannin flavour making this ever so slightly bitter... Rising from the glass is a complex oak and tannin filled scent... a woody tannin filled smell... oak tannin tasting... nose is bitter-sweet with astringent oak tannin... oak tannin hitting my nostrils... tannin/sap seems to dominate the other flavours... oak tannin spices... (aromas of) woody tannins... rich complex aromas of oak tannins... the aroma of oak tannin becomes stronger... Spicy oak tannin... oak tannin disguising itself as cloves... woody tannin filled smell... wave of oak spices and tannin... oak tannins disguised as orange... cinnamon and oak tannin which begins to taste like anise... the mouth becomes heated with oak tannin..." (ad infinitum)

Enough, you get the idea, but let's summarize. According to Wolfboy...

1. Tannins exhibit mostly aromas, but also flavors, most often described as "spicy tannins", but also appended to the words woody and sappy, and occasionally described as bitter.

2. Tannins can disguise themselves as anise, orange, and/or cloves.

3. Tannins can "heat up the mouth", can be "rich and complex" and can grow "stronger" and "dominate" the flavors.

4. Tannins build up over time in oak.

Only one problem: tannins have no aroma or taste whatsoever! None. Zero. And they don't "build up" - quite the opposite, they combine with other components and reduce in time.

You read it right. Actually the quotes - attributed by Google to our Wolfishly furry friend from the north - seems not aware that "tannic" refers not to any taste or aroma, but rather to a particularly extreme mouthfeel described as " mouth-puckering". This extreme reaction - puckering - is most typically noted on the roof of the mouth, or between the gums and cheeks on the side of the mouth.

Janis Robinson, one of the world's leading taster of wines, describes tannins perfectly...

"Allow some tea to stew in the pot, then take a mouthful, without any milk to soften the impact... Notice how you react. There's a bit of acidity there, perhaps a trace of bitterness too, but there's something else quite different than either of these components that is so distasteful it almost makes you want to screw up your eyes.

This is tannin..."

Neither Dave Broom (author of "Rum" and "The World Atlas of Whisky", nor Michael Jackson (many book), nor David Wishart ("Whisky Classified'), in their voluminous coverage of oak aging, make any mention of tannic aromas or flavors. Wishart's marvelous book actually classfies whiskeys by aroma/taste and guess what?

"Tannic" doesn't appear. Nor does it appear in the indices of these books, particularly as an aroma/flavor. But it's a common finding for the Frozen One where "tannin" aromas and flavors turn up in 165 links to his reviews found by a Google site seach.

An extreme finding for what constitutes an extreme mouthfeel, but not an aroma or flavor. But I'm not surprised; after all, his Rum Reviewer's Review (sticky at the top of this section) noted that this new reviewer found "bitterness" in over half the rums he'd reviewed at that time!

Of course, I advised him to rethink his frequent findings of "bitterness", and I think he may have done so - but perhaps only to be replaced by mysterious "tannin" aromas and flavors that only he seems to experience, and that I simply can't find anywhere else.

Can you really trust a bitter-finding reviewer, who also reports non-existent aromas and tastes for a mouthfeel? You decide.

[Capn Jimbo]

Lissen up!


Here's the deal. Tannins are a phenol that are reported as an extreme mouthfeel. In spirits they act as a preservative. The most tannins are extracted from new, uncharred oak. Over time tannins reduce as they combine with existing flavors to form new flavor components. But once again...

Tannins have no notable aroma or flavor. Here's a chemical explanation:

"Tannins are large molecules that don't exist in the gas phase to any significant extent under normal conditions. As such, they shouldn't have any smell as they never reach your nose. As others have noted, they also don't really have a flavor, but impart a distinct physical sensation of astringency, noticeable as roughness resulting from their binding the proteins on the inside of your mouth."

Is is well to note that most rum distillers utilize previously used, mostly charred barrels (typically used bourbon barrels), so there are really not many tannins available or transferred to the rum. The little tannin that does transfer to the rum further dissipate via breakdown and combination with other elements.


Bottom Line

It's really sad that there is so much misinformation on the net, particularly with regard to rum. I wonder how many newbies are madly trying to discern the Frozen One's tannin aromas and flavors, when there aren't any...

Pucker up, monkeys...