{"id":3408,"date":"2026-10-04T08:22:58","date_gmt":"2026-10-04T06:22:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thejackdrop.fr\/?p=3408"},"modified":"2026-10-04T08:42:46","modified_gmt":"2026-10-04T06:42:46","slug":"masterclass-la-maison-velier-2026-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thejackdrop.fr\/index.php\/2026\/10\/04\/masterclass-la-maison-velier-2026-2\/","title":{"rendered":"[EN] Masterclass – La Maison & Velier (2026)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This article is also available in French<\/a> right HERE<\/em><\/strong>.
Please note It’s auto-translated, may contains little errors.
<\/em>
On Friday, September 11, I had an engagement in Belgium for an exceptional masterclass. I won’t hide the immense joy that filled me that evening, as the expert accompanying us was none other than Christopher Bellail<\/a>, Rum Product Manager at LM&V – one of the (already? future?) great figures of rum- or at least within my close circle for the past few years. This article will attempt to pay tribute not only to the expert’s detailed explanations and the various players in the rum world, but also to the exceptional spirits presented. The task seems almost insurmountable as I write these few lines, but\u2026 here goes nothing, let’s dive in!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Intro<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

So here we are in Courtrai (Kortrijk, for our Belgian friends), right in front of the RumStylez<\/a> shop! Since no fewer than 24 enthusiasts are expected, and David wanted to pull out all the stops, our evening will exceptionally take place upstairs at The Lab Social Club restaurant. A large U-shaped table arrangement allows for easy conversation and gives our guest plenty of space. Generous platters are laid out on the tables, leaving us comfortably settled for an intense three hours.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"L\u2019attribut<\/figure>\n\n\n\n


A showcase for La Maison & Velier of course (and beyond), highly detailed explanations thanks to Chris’s deep expertise (who had just returned from Jamaica, with the scent of Hampden almost still hovering around him), and sharing among enthusiasts. In short, all the ingredients are there for a great time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

The protagonists<\/h1>\n\n\n\n
\"L\u2019attribut<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

David Dobbelaere, the unmissable Belgian enthusiast & wine merchant, was our host. This rum & cacha\u00e7a fanatic created his own shop, \u00ab\u00a0RumStylez,\u00a0\u00bb a few years ago, and has even released some truly fine bottlings (ohhh, my favorite Chairman \u2764\ufe0f). I wrote a dedicated article about him, which you can find here – LIEN<\/em><\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What I love about David is his simplicity and laid-back attitude. He is sharp, ultra-professional, but above all, incredibly hospitable (even my three-year-old son has never managed to break him, ahahah). He knows how to put everyone at ease in seconds; you quickly feel right at home, which is why I love dropping by his shop – you just need to plan for a few hours, because among enthusiasts, we never know when to stop. I highly recommend going to meet the Man, with a capital M.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PS: If you’re not from around here, take advantage of his online shop RumStylez<\/a><\/span> or order through the RumX<\/a> app!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Christopher Bellail<\/strong> (@Cris_Inacio), Rum Product Manager for LM&V, was the star attraction of the evening in my eyes. This rum (and Clairin) expert has been one of the key players in the rum world in France (and beyond) for over 15 years. In 2018, he brought the rum collection at Bar 1802 in Paris to its full glory, building up over 1,600 references (now the largest rum bar in Europe?). At the same time, he co-founded the Rhum Society, aiming to rethink tasting events. In 2023, he joined La Maison & Velier, where he manages commercial development for the rum portfolio – a role combining product development, marketing, and spirits expertise, all while leveraging the exceptional aura of Velier (in my view, the single biggest player in promoting and premiumizing rum for the past 30 years) and La Maison du Whisky (an extraordinary distributor and major French player that shines every year through its massive trade show, Whisky Live Paris).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In short, I’ve known Chris for a few years now, but I hadn’t yet had the pleasure of seeing him in action like this, and I can tell you he set the bar remarkably high. Hats off to the artist!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

La Maison & Velier<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

In the world of rum, certain names don’t just select bottles: they help change the way we approach, view, and taste them. La Maison & Velier is one of them. Born in 2017 from the alliance between La Maison du Whisky and the Italian house Velier, the company carries a demanding vision of spirits: prioritizing origin, raw materials, distillation – with an emphasis on the pot still – aging, and above all, the history, culture, and people who craft our precious spirits every day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"L\u2019attribut
@cr\u00e9dit : velier.it<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

This philosophy owes a great deal to Luca Gargano, a major figure in contemporary rum and a tireless explorer of terroirs. From the mythical Demerara of Guyana to the rums of Caroni, we also owe to him (as well as Daniele Biondi) the exceptional spotlight put on Haitian clairins with their most radical expressions. From raw material to still, he has championed a transparent, non-standardized rum capable of telling the story of a place just as much as a craft. An approach of which, for instance, the Habitation Velier range centered on pure single rums – a classification that Luca himself established – remains in my view one of the most striking expressions in the rum world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is precisely this transparency, this expertise, and this invitation to travel that Chris offered us during this masterclass: six bottlings, six stops, and one shared conviction – rum is never defined merely by a color, an age, or an origin. Between sugarcane, molasses, long fermentations, stills, climatic influences, and the craftsmanship of producers, the tasting etched the philosophy of La Maison & Velier into our minds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Make no mistake: while Velier is indispensable, La Maison & Velier highlights products that are still underrated, and the brand itself is not yet all that widely known. Part of my work today is also to help you understand it better and spark your interest!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Classifications in the world of rum<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n

After this spotlight on LM&V, Chris gave us a refresher on the broad strokes of rum history. We won’t dwell on that here – I think I’ve already done part of that job on the blog and social media. However, several detailed point – and I must admit I completely share this perspective – were brought to our attention, particularly regarding classification, or rather the various classifications in the rum world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"L\u2019attribut
La fameuse introduction d\u00e9butant pour classer les rhums – @credit : gulpglow.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Classifications in the world of rum (continued)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If pitting pure sugarcane juice against molasses makes no sense, and if every country now produces diverse rums with styles that are sometimes radically different – to the point where our basic intro on Hispanic, English, and French traditions feels quite outdated – how then should we classify the diversity of rum today?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Luca Gargano and Velier certainly have their own idea, which they’ve developed with insane expertise, drawing inspiration notably from the world of whisky (and its famous single malts), while pushing the concept even further.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00ab\u00a0Gargano<\/strong>\u00a0\u00bb Classificatio<\/u>n<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Source & rights : VELIER<\/a>.<\/em>
Note: While Chris didn’t cover the full explanation, I felt this section was important enough to include \ud83d\udc40.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Observation: A Lack of Clarity for the Consumer<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

In the early 2000s, following the massive enthusiasm for the \u00ab\u00a0rum wave\u00a0\u00bb of the 1990s (driven by cocktails like the Mojito and Cuba Libre), interest in rum began to stall in pioneering markets like Italy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Luca Gargano identified the main cause: the absence of clear categories<\/strong>. Unlike whisky – which managed to structure its range by elevating the perception of the product (from Blended to Single Malt, then to Cask Strength) – rum remained a vague catch-all where everything was simply labeled \u00ab\u00a0rum.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was almost impossible for a consumer to tell the difference between:<\/p>\n\n\n\n