Right here’s our irregular rum session once more. On the one hand I nonetheless need whisky to have the principle focus, alternatively I see rum posts merely generate rather less curiosity. That’s why I have a tendency to mix them into bigger classes.
Anyway we begin with a Hampden bottling by The Whisky Jury. That is truly the primary launch of a brand new undertaking by Angelo Jacobs who used to run TastToe, the well-known spirits retailer in Belgium. He has at all times been an enormous rum fan and determined to begin his personal impartial bottler initiative known as Spirits Mission.
C<>H 28 yo 1993 (59,1%, The Whisky Jury for Spirits Mission 2022, refill barrel, 115 btl.)
Nostril: very excessive ester ranges, very heady and virtually perfumed. This has a truckload of solvents, glue and black olive tapenade. Very highly effective. Ammonium chloride, damp materials and a few leafy notes (Thai basil!). Tiny notes of marzipan, lemon peels and rotting pineapple. Additionally hints of thyme and bitter tobacco leaves.
Mouth: most likely one of the excessive rums I’ve had. Inexperienced bananas, fermenting pineapples, then glue and many grapefruit peels. Agency saline notes within the background, with this typical industrial and very dry facet. This completely numbs your mouth with a novel mixture of bitter, bitter and tannic. There’s an virtually vinegary facet too. Loads of tapenade once more, or anchovies paste. A lot of grassy notes and acetone. Actually.
End: lengthy, with extra salty liquorice notes, inexperienced bananas, bitter fermenting fruits and this uniquely dry, mouth-coating feeling.
Beautiful and painful on the similar time. One thing to serve your uncle, if he says he’s into rum and coke, ha! That is actually ultra-sharp and completely invasive, however by some means elegant too. Let me simply let you know this: my spouse requested me to do away with the glass after I was sitting subsequent to her within the sofa. That is one thing to drink by yourself, I’m afraid. Rating: 91/100
Subsequent: Uitvlugt 1999. Do you know this was initially a Dutch distillery (established 1750)? It was closed in 2000 but it surely had collected a number of previous stills from different distilleries like Port Mourant, Versailles, Albion, Skeldon… This rum was made in a wood nonetheless, matured for two years within the tropics and aged additional in Europe, till being bottled within the Colors of Rum collection.
Uitvlugt 21 yo 1999 (52,6%, Colors of Rum 2021, Version n°1, cask #54, 184 btl.)
Nostril: fairly fruity, with some contemporary pineapple and bananas, hints of pears, with notes of buttery caramel and raisins beneath. Mild hints of recent tyres and liquorice, in addition to some aniseed and lemon peels. Fairly contemporary and comparatively rounded.
Mouth: nonetheless a contemporary and fruity facet (lemons, inexperienced apples), with some pink grapefruit and even ardour fruit. This works effectively with the sunshine salty contact and minty notes. A touch of concrete and dry chalk, but it surely’s much less funky and olive-y than I anticipated. Only a trace of smoke within the distance. One way or the other it feels youthful than it’s.
End: medium size, getting a bit slender and spirity (tequila?) however this shiny be aware of pink grapefruit continues to be there. Dry finale with minerals and menthol.
A barely unusual Uitvlugt maybe (though it’s troublesome to say if we don’t know the nonetheless title), not very funky. However this shiny combo of grapefruit, ardour fruit and inexperienced apple is one thing I hadn’t seen in rum earlier than and makes it very attention-grabbing. Nonetheless obtainable from The Whisky Barrel as an illustration. Rating: 91/100
Uitvlugt 27 yo 1995 – Port Mourant (53,4%, Swell de Spirits 2022, cask #12, 250 btl.)
Nostril: the same nostril on pineapple (granita) and bananas, with apples and a touch of vanilla ice cream. Some floral notes that have been additionally current within the Colors of Rum launch, however maybe a bit extra right here. Some liquorice. A couple of metallic notes which aren’t misplaced. Nice candy and bitter steadiness.
Mouth: maybe a bit extra estery than the 1999 earlier than. Begins high-pitched with extra pineapple, inexperienced apple but additionally extra wooden affect. Getting sweeter and darker over time, evolving in direction of honey, aniseed, even some chilly espresso in the long run. Very refined tarry notes.
End: lengthy, with darkish chocolate, mentholated notes, toffee and hints of drying wooden.
Laborious to select a favorite. This one is darker and supposedly extra advanced, but additionally extra woody. The peerlessly chiseled fruits of the 1999 give it an edge. You should still be capable to discover a bottle of this one. Rating: 89/100
Forsyths Worthy Park ‘WPM’ 11 yo 2006 (57,5%, Habitation Velier 2017)
Nostril: fairly fierce and estery. Sharp notes of ginger cake and lemons, with smoky pineapple within the background. Some oily notes, nutmeg and liquorice. A barely perfumed edge (floral / acetone) which isn’t too dangerous. Slight earthy notes and leather-based within the distance.
Mouth: the esters aren’t excessive. As a substitute you get a moderately rounded layer of fermenting fruits (overripe pineapple and orange) with grapefruit peels, inexperienced banana and lemons on the facet. Some anchovies and salty brine, with inexperienced olives, anise, a touch of roasted nuts, pepper and liquorice. Additionally a touch of glue and nutmeg.
End: lengthy, minty, leathery with loads of aniseed and a few numbing warmth.
It is a medium gentle Worthy Park with an ester stage of 209 gr/hlpa. It’s not a real powerhouse but it surely reveals all of the anticipated flavours. Complicated and dry with an amazing sense of refinement. Nonetheless obtainable from The Whisky Change. Rating: 90/100
Worthy Park 15 yo 2006 (55,5%, Whisky Blues for Picnic Bar, bourbon barrel #21, 246 btl.)
Nostril: begins with woody notes (hints of coconut and polish) but it surely opens up properly on candy tropical fruits like mashed bananas, mango and pineapple. A mentholated / camphory be aware, with candy ginger and a agency salinity.
Mouth: fairly creamy, exhibiting numerous ripe fruits and woody notes. Apricots, bananas and stewed apples. Additionally cinnamon sweet and a touch of caramelized nuts, with black pepper and one thing of a vanilla latte. The thickness is moderately spectacular and appears to swallow a number of the funkiness.
End: lengthy, spicy, with cinnamon, salt and a light-weight savoury edge.
A pleasant decide from the Picnic Bar (ba dum tsss). This will need to have been an energetic cask, and whereas it overtakes a number of the extra typical notes, it additionally provides a pleasant fruitiness. This comes nearer to whisky in a means, and after I’m ingesting rum, I prefer it to style like rum. Rating: 88/100
We finish this session with a vicious rum at 67.9% ABV. It was produced at New Yarmouth (Appleton… in Jamaica) and bottled by Treasured Liquors for a number of different events in Japan. I’m certain I’ll have a superb night time sleep after this.
New Yarmouth 26 yo 1994 (67,9%, Treasured Liquors for Bar Lamp, Grain&Cane + Bar Rum & Whisky 2021, cask #435082, 249 btl.)
Nostril: virtually a sherry cask, exhibiting toffee, chocolate and muscovado sugar, candied ginger, cinnamon and candied fruits. Even hints of plums. Additionally minty notes and cedar wooden, with a superb dose of pencil shavings as effectively. Cigar bins. Caramelized pineapple provides some brightness after some time.
Mouth: much less aggressive than I anticipated, though it’s very wood-forward. Loads of liquorice, energetic cedar wooden and tobacco notes, but additionally candy mango, coconut cream and cinnamon pastry. Caramel and toffee, maple syrup and hints of chocolate cake. Loads of charred notes beneath, virtually a touch of matchsticks too.
End: lengthy, spicy, nonetheless these cedar notes, Christmas spice, maple darkness and a few grassy warmth.
Lots of wooden affect right here, which makes it very wealthy and intense. Attention-grabbing to mess around with water, or just blow away your mates at full energy. Barely excessive maybe, however I’m certain this will likely be a welcome bottle in bars. Rating: 88/100
