Yup, Retro Olfaction, one of my old girlfriends back in the hippie 60's. I still remember her sweet smell... no, wait - that's another one! The "Retro" I want to discuss today has to do with yet another pleasant sensation when tasting certain fine rums.
Retro-olfaction.
Now many of you are familiar with something called "aftertaste". This is an actual residual taste remaining after the finish is gone. Like drinking a small swig of a coating honey or maple syrup that remains in your throat. There are more than a few rums - example, the El Dorados, Pampero and Teresa - that leave a nice aftertaste. Cigar lovers dig this sensation. But retro-olfaction goes one better...
It is almost like a second experience!
More than a simple aftertaste. The amazing Jean-Luc Braud, Remy Cointreau expert, says it best:
How bout dat! And it's true. Very rarely, Sue Sea and I will come upon a rum that does this - example: Ron Botran 1893. In sum, retro olfaction is not an aftertaste, it's more like porn...The retro-olfaction:
Occurring several minutes after tasting, the phenomenon of retro-olfaction generally reveals a product of high quality. This step is between smell and taste and is an aromatic return from nose to mouth. The retro-olfaction often sharply pinpoints an aroma previously revealed.
You can't define it, but you know it when you see, er smell, er taste it...
