There have been the legendary Velier bottlings and an outstanding El Dorado but other than that, we never got any Albions. At least we were not aware of any. After all, we often times do not get to know a Rum’s marque and as we’ve learned, profiles change over time as production equipment and human resources change. Interestingly, this batch has been distilled with the Port Mourant (PM) still while the original Albions and older imitations have been distilled continuously.

The Nectar Albion “AW” 2012 10YO (62,5%): Very light stuff. We are typically not talking about colour here but this is definitely noticeable. Nose: Clearly PM and decidedly different from other Albions. It is very creamy, almost cheesy with wood chips, vanilla, pepper, cotton and grapefruit. Well, well… Palate: Blood oranges and grapefruit are omnipresent, which I like a lot. Then plenty of wood in different forms and processings, a touch of anise and fennel as well as salted popcorn. Reading these notes, I should love the Rum, yet it comes with quite a few flaws which we simply cannot connive but give this another six or seven years and we should have ourselves a very nice expression. Finish: Medium long with the bitter fruits, cheesy notes and oak. While I am glad to see that the AW marque is still alive, it just isn’t what we want it to be… (77/100)

S.B.S Albion 2012 10YO (64,6%): Frankly, I do not expect this to be any different from the The Nectar of the Daily Drams bottling. Nose: Well, it is. This one is much more fruity, with apples. pears, the grapefruit and blood oranges again as well as Szechuan pepper, cotton and lime juice. I must say that I definitely prefer the nose of this one. Palate: Interesting. This one has this certain dryness, but lacks the wood of the The Nectar. Once again, and only relatively speaking of course, we get more fruity notes and now decidedly fewer spices, which suits a Rum of this age and maturity much better if you ask me. With the third sip we also get this apparently typical note of salted popcorn. Sure, why not!? Finish: Relatively short but nicely balances between sweet fruits, dry oak and subtle herbs. All in all, we are starting to ascend the ladder of quality but we are still at the base, I feel. (79/100)

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