{"id":10721,"date":"2020-03-30T15:50:25","date_gmt":"2020-03-30T13:50:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/leblogaroger.eu\/?p=10721"},"modified":"2020-03-30T20:54:01","modified_gmt":"2020-03-30T18:54:01","slug":"luca-gargano-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/leblogaroger.eu\/index.php\/2020\/03\/30\/luca-gargano-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Luca Gargano"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

During the article about reductions, I asked questions to several speakers in the world of rum, including Luca Gargano<\/strong>, emblematic boss of Velier \u2026 Without response from him, the man being very busy, I had not insisted too much for not disturbing him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Until March 29 when I relaunch him to have info on its new products<\/strong> for 2020 and there, he offers to call me to talk about \u2026. reductions and aging. Chatting with him is always a great pleasure, I don’t ask myself too many questions and I ask him when he wants to do this \u2026 answer: now <\/strong>\ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So here I am, conducting a small \u00ab\u00a0express\u00a0\u00bb interview with Luca Gargano on the phone for the second time, so I am offering you this charming discussion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reductions and aging<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Hello Luca, first of all, how are you?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Ho it’s okay, I’m in my office \u2026 we were moving Velier’s head office, but with the confinement, the workers are gone and so I no longer have the old office and not yet completely the new one in fact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The employees are not there either, the place is beautiful and psychologically I want to be there \u2026. I would pay to work in fact, so much I like that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Concerning the reductions, I already made an article but your opinion is always interesting obviously!<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Yes I just saw, it dates but let’s go \u2026 For me in fact, the most important is the reduction during the cask<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is the most important, reduction during the entry into the barrel \u2026 In the past, for a question of space, all the rums were put in barrels at very high degrees, in 80-85% alcohol. At Caroni<\/strong>, Demerara Distillers<\/strong> etc, they did all that \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And when rums began to be recognized as a very high quality spirit, the rule changed slightly. The rum was put in 66% <\/strong>in the barrel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In recent times, the best distillers in the world have reduced a little more, in the 55% -60%<\/strong> range.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But it is this most important reduction; because it is this one which will define everything later. After that, the reduction for bottling must be done slowly <\/strong>as you know, but the product is already reduced before that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of course afterwards we have everything that happens in the barrel \u2026 what type of barrel, do you do the \u00ab\u00a0ouillage\u00a0\u00bb, whether it is a new barrel or not etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So finaly, the independent bottler will not be able to do much more \u2026 he will of course reduce his rum as he wishes, but it is above all the distiller who will decide upstream.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In my case, for Rhum Rhum<\/strong> and my distillery in Port au Prince, I cask at 66%. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It also depends a bit on the type of cask used, right?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Exactly, in Port au Prince<\/strong>, my dream is to put aging in my own barrels for example \u2026 not ex bourbon or ex something, my own rum barrels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But for that, obviously it takes quite a lot of time and money because when I receive my new barrels, I have to put white rum in it for a month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then a new white rum for 3-4 months and so on for a few longer and longer passages \u2026 and then put white rum in it but longer to prepare my barrel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And so with that, I will have Providence, for example, fully aged in an \u00ab\u00a0ex Providence\u00a0\u00bb barrel \u2026 and there it would be magnificent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maggie Campbell explained to me that he also puts rum in their own barrels at Privateer \u2026<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Haaa, did you talk to Maggie? She’s great, huh?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yes yes, very nice person that I didn’t know at all, nor Privateer. Discovered thanks to a post by Kate Perry with your new Habitation Velier.<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Yes, Privateer is still very young in fact \u2026 I met Maggie because, as you know, I also import wines, the triple A<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And Maggie is \u00ab\u00a0Master of Wine\u00a0\u00bb, so we naturally came to meet each other and we drank good wines and finally discussed barrel selections for Velier and Habitation Velier at Privateer. She shares the same philosophies as I do for distillation and wine in fact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So we’re going to have Privateer rums for the first time in Europe \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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So here we are when we are going to talk about the new features<\/strong>, and the least we can say is that there is going to be a lot! And between the now classic, shall we say, 2 great new<\/strong> products that are 100% exclusive!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking of Privateer, could we take a quick tour of the innovations that you are preparing for 2020?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Yes of course \u2026 you know me, I’m a bit like Messner \u2026 Do you know Reinhold Messner<\/strong>? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is the mountaineer who at each new summit wants to climb another more complicated one \u2026 I am a little like him, I need new challenges and there this year, there will be 2 magnificent things<\/strong>!<\/p>\n\n\n\n