After struggling with an illness for the last couple of days we are back with a few interesting Hampdens waiting on my table. The Whisky Jury Hampden 2012 10YO (58,4%): This should be “OWH”. Nose: Clearly Jamaican but not necessarily Hampden, I think that describes it quite well. This nutty profile profile is much closer…
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A bunch of Caroni 1998
We still have plenty of Caronis in our sample library and today it is tome for one of the lesser vintages in my book, namely 1998. Wu Dram Clan Caroni 1998 23YO “Kyoto Fine Wine and Spirits” (62,2%): This has been released together with a 1997 Caroni. Nose: I almost forgot how “dirty” this particular…
Chairmen
Are multiple Chairman’s chairmen? Anyway, we have more Rums from what might be at least one of the best contemporary distilleries. Chairman’s Reserve 2011 9YO “Master of Malt” (58,8%): This is a cane juice based Rum (rather than molasses) distilled by the mighty Vendome pot still. Nose: I am not sure if I would have…
Some Long Ponds
A brief Long Pond session with a few samples I wanted to try. Plantation Long Pond “VRW” 2009 12YO ‘Luxembourgish Cask Selection’ Spanish Orange Wine Cask (53%): The wine finishes can be nice, but don’t have to be. Nose: Very lovely with beautiful floral notes, sweet yellow stone fruits (think peach and apricot), vanilla, honey,…
On the state of Rum and Blogging
A couple of weeks ago, during the second German Armagnac Festival, a certain mister K. from A. told me that I have become really quite, in the sense that I have been much more vocal about certain topics and issues in the past. He is right of course, but it got me thinking nevertheless… Perhaps…
More from Bellevue (Damoiseau) 1998
We still get a few releases from this magnificent batch of Rum from time to time and even have some older bottlings around. And I must say that they did indeed reach a beautiful level of maturity! Milano Rum Festival & Barmetro Bellevue (Damoiseau) 1998 21YO (57%): It is funny that I only managed to…
Barbancourt
Just a couple of Barbancourts today. Barbancourt *** 1970s (43%): This might still be a pot still expression and be about four years old. Nose: Very herbal with dill, sage, thyme and oregano paired with a dab of marzipan. While this is a typical Barbancourt that isn’t overly complicated to detect as such, I must…
Some Column Still Demeraras from the Diamond Era
A very random session today, featuring a couple of Enmores from 2002, among others. S.B.S Diamond Distillery “SVL” (Uitvlugt Savalle) 2003 17YO (53,7%): This batch featured both, good and utterly terrible Rums so far. I really don’t know why the variance in cask quality is so big here. Nose: Rich and heavy with nougat, coffee,…
El Salvador
El Salvador is a real rarity on this blog and as much as I would love to serve you guys some more background information, I simply lack the time and nerves to do so at the moment. Alas, we shall stick to the tasting today. Plantation El Salvador 2015 8YO “Pineau des Charantes Cask” (48,6%):…
Hampden 8 Marks Collection
When the Hampden 8 Marks Collection came out in 2022, it created a lot of buzz. After all, it was the first time that a distillery offered a cross-tasting of all its marques in a single set for regular purchase. So what is it? Marks or marques? We’ve learned, also directly from Hampden, that these…
Compagnie des Indes Mauritius: Grays vs Saint Aubin
I have two duos from Mauritius bottled by Compagnie des Indes in my sample library and thought that would make for an interesting comparison. The Rums come from Grays and Saint Aubin. We are very familiar with both distilleries I’d say and we even have a clear favorite between the two of them, but let’s…
Travellers from Belize
It kinda feels like the market is being flooded with Belize’s Travellers Distillers Rums lately and I must say that I don’t mind it. Even though these releases are of vastly different quality, the best ones can easily keep up with some good Demerara column still Rums if you ask me. Alas, let’s see what…
Single Cask Rum 