Review: La Maison & Velier Habitation Velier Rums, 2026 Releases
La Maison & Velier’s Habitation Velier is an especially unusual collection of rums from a bottler that’s already known for its out-of-the-ordinary offerings. The range, which currently spans 45 releases, is designed to be educational in nature, designed to showcase the power of pot distillation and how it varies from one producer (and region) to the next. LM&V explains a bit more:
The Habitation Velier project was born in 2015, springing from the close collaboration between Luca Gargano and the best distillers in the world of Pure Single Rum, regarded as the very best expression of this spirit. The aim of the range is to raise awareness in the rum market on the fundamental importance of the distillation process, and in general on production, from raw material to fermentation. And it is precisely to keep the focus on the method of distillation that the labels indicate the alembics used by every producer, as well as other technical information, such as the quantity of congeners – non-alcoholic substances responsible for the product’s aroma – present in the spirit, and the marks, identifying the different types of rum produced by the same distillery.
To date, the range encompasses 45 releases, inclusive of white and aged rums from 11 different distilleries. Indeed, every Habitation Velier rum reflects an original project with truly unique features: a “world première” for each distillery.
White Pure Single Rums are the purest, most quintessential expression of sugar cane and its derivatives (molasses). Having a high alcohol content, they are the next generation rum for all passionate mixologists. Single-vintage rums are aged entirely in a tropical climate, with an angel’s share of more than 8% per year, which allows for accelerated natural ageing compared to the European method, at the expense of the quantity of product. The products are all bottled barrel proof, without the addition of caramel, sugar or any other non-distillation element.
We’ve reviewed a handful of these releases over the years and today we turn to three new releases, all unaged white rums from much different locales.
Habitation Velier Savanna HERR Reunion Single Rum 2025 White Review
Unaged rum from Reunion island, bottled in 2025 (a 2018 expression was also released previously). HERR is its High Ester Rum Reunion mark, a rare formula for the operation. The fruity esters are overwhelming from the jump, showcasing aromas of overripe banana, pineapple, peach, and candied limes — with layers of petrol offering a much grittier balance. Florals emerge with time in glass, evoking elderflower and honeysuckle, both heavily perfumed. Massive flavors of bubblegum and expressed mint oil create a very sweet, aggressive palate, leading to a finish that’s a mix of the aforementioned overripe fruit, cotton candy, and potpourri. Overwhelming from start to finish, it’s a wild but perfect educational offering, just as promised. 125 proof. B+ / $225
Habitation Velier Renegade Grenada Single Rum 2025 White Review
This follows a 2023 bottling from the same distillery in Grenada, but this expression is unaged. Beautiful green banana, lemongrass, and a spray of tropical aromas lead things off on the nose here, developing to show a clean white sugar aroma, laced with notes of lime leaf. Youthful but pretty, its gentle petrol underbelly is kept in check throughout. Surprisingly creamy and approachable on the palate, the sip is dominated by layers of spun sugar, more lime, and touches of saline. The finish hints at coconut and, to a lesser extent, some hogo, culminating in a clean and vibrant rum that feels versatile and surprisingly refreshing. 110 proof. A- / $125
Habitation Velier Mhoba South Africa Single Rum 2025 White Review
We’ve covered the rums of this exotic producer before, and this expression may be the wildest of the bunch. A nose of roasted almonds with lightly scorched shells immediately surprises, and it finds strange bedfellows in aromas of burnt coffee grounds, banana chips, and torched marshmallow. A pistachio note emerges with some time in glass, altogether evoking a truly odd dessert. Plastic and petrol give the palate a considerable funkiness that approaches acetone, though classic overripe fruit notes — banana and some apple — come along eventually to temper some of the funk. At 62% abv, the impact of all that alcohol is dominant, but I was surprised that water turns the exuberant sweetness rather saccharine while also muddying up the finish. Crushed nut shells linger alongside grittier touches of creosote and wet asphalt. 124 proof. B / $125
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