The initial plan was to review pairs of all available vintages from the 1990s but I’ve quickly dismissed that thought as that would have been way too much for a single post. Alas, let’s just have just a few of them, shall we!? And 1999 seems to be the perfect start! The Colours of Rum…
Tag: Silver Seal
Port Mourant 2002
There are so many Port Mourant batches/ vintages and as you know, we gotta catch taste ’em all. 2002 was one of the better DDL-era Port Mourant vintages if I remember correctly by the way. Probably even the best but still, when it comes to PM: 1960s/ 70s Uitvlugt > late 1980s/ 90s Uitvlugt >…
A pair of very old Gardels
Two real heavyweights from days looong gone. Both of these Rums have been distilled before we were even born! Rumclub Gardel 1983 38YO (46,6%): Did you believe that we will see such a bottling in 2021? Personally, I did not. Such old Rums in general are getting rarer and rarer and if you consider that…
WIRD/ WIRR/ Rockley/ Blackrock 1986 encore (old ones)
After the young ones, it is a pleasure to present the old ones as well! Berry Bros & Rudd Barbados (WIRR) 1986 21YO (46%): The youngest of the old ones, bottled at drinking strength. Oh yeah, that was still pretty much the standard in the first decade of the 2000s… Nose: Compared to the “young…
Clarendon (Monymusk) 1984
Sometimes you get Rums that you couldn’t imagine to get, either because they exist no more as they have been blended or because they are still resting in some warehouse, only waiting to fall victim to the same practice. But then there are the times when companies are sold, acquired, consolidated, or part of the…
Ancient Enmores and Versailles from the 1970s
On paper, this should be a fun session. Exactly the type of session we’d love to do every time. I am afraid we cannot, though. It doesn’t help, but these old Enmores and Versailles from around the 1970s are probably my personal favorites of all time. This magical style, paired with the patience of these…
Hampden, LROK edition
Jamaica’s finest distillery, today without a vintage but a marque instead. LROK (Light Rum Owen Kelly, Esters: 200-400 g/hlaa) is the between-ager of Hampden for me. I believe that Hampden is at its best when it comes to the ultra high ester marques (HLCF and beyond), while Rums with the OWH or LFCH marque feel…
Barbancourt 2004
While we’ve had numerous Rhums of this batch already, I do not recall ever reviewing one. Of course that does have a reason (lack of maturity, low abv) but with a few more recent releases that might be about to change. At least, you should give Rums like these another chance from time to time,…
Port Mourant 1975
Essentially antique Port Mourants today. Some have an excellent reputation, others, well, rather an average one. I am not stressing it all time but that’s why we do semi-blind tastings whenever possible. Sure, the difference in abv can often be telling but it is still the best we can do. At least colour is not…
Bearing(!?) Blends Part I
A good blend is more than just the sum of its parts. Of course that statement is supposed to be correct, yet most blenders don’t manage to live up to that standard. I guess at the end of the day many producers are just trying to disguise bad barrels. Nevertheless, a few blends manage to…
A bag of Bajans
There’s so much debate going on about the Barbados GI and to date I didn’t really comment on it. And that won’t change today for two reasons. Firstly, the disussion is really tiring and annoying. Secondly, others have come up with way better arguments and it should be easy for the concerned reader to come…
Hampden 1993
Hampden 1993 – this little combination of letters and numbers is what makes rum connoisseurs’ hearts beat faster. First and foremost there’s the Samaroli Hampden 1993 21YO, arguably one of the best rums ever bottled but other rums from the batch, though mostly diluted, come considerably close. The only other rum from the batch we’ve reviewed…
Single Cask Rum 