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| Hello, that is one in all our (nearly) every day tastings. Santé! |
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July 20, 2025
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A number of extra rums, some excessive
First, the same old apéritif, and doubtless fairly a little bit of sugar…
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Dictador 16 yo (40%, OB, Colombia, +/-2024) 
Fruit of the inexpressible ‘solera system’. They informed me this 16 wasn’t too dangerous, however let’s stay cautious… Color: deep gold. Nostril: nicely, this isn’t dreadful, it’s obtained a developed edge but stays somewhat recent, on lifeless leaves and bay, nori, then praline and ginger liqueur. It’s that latter factor that’s a bit troubling, reality be informed. Mouth: oops, that is nonetheless terribly candy, even when it doesn’t instantly set off rejection, even at room temperature. Nonetheless, it’s not good, the flavours are disagreeable, with burnt sugar and rubber. End: pretty lengthy, and that’s exactly the difficulty. Very ‘burnt sugar’. Feedback: disagreeable at 20°C, although I think about it’d go down extra acceptably at 5°C. A somewhat poor wee factor, actually; the ‘Capítulo I’ we tasted final time was much better, in our opinion.
SGP:720 – 39 factors. |
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TDL 2006-2008/2024 ‘Concord’ (57%, Vagabond Spirits for Takumi Spirit, ex-bourbon, Trinidad) 
TDL, basically, is the brand new Caroni, isn’t it? Color: amber. Nostril: it’s fruity, the feel feels of the ‘mild’ sort, with orange liqueur, acacia honey, candyfloss, and an entire bag of sugary Easter eggs. With water: tar and shoe polish come out first, then wafts of recent plywood and a decidedly Ikea-like character. Mouth (neat): there’s a tough, bagasse-like edge to it, gritty but candy on the similar time, with somewhat putting acidity. Belize does spring to thoughts… With water: the whole lot appears to collect round preserved lemons, olives, and honey. It’s very sweet-salty and gently bitter-sweet directly. End: similar. Feedback: not simple to pigeonhole, however I somewhat get pleasure from this gently unbelievable ‘self-blend’.
SGP:552 – 85 factors. |
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Saint James 12 yo 2010/2023 (45%, La Maison & Velier, Magnum Sequence #2, Alex Webb Version, Martinique, agricole) 
That is the Magnum Sequence linked to the well-known picture company, although these aren’t magnums. I believe that is going to be good. Color: full gold. Nostril: oh sure, cassata, strawberry muesli, white clover honey, recent turmeric, fennel and star anise. Vivid because the lens on an previous Leica (eh?). Mouth: terrifyingly lovely and distinguished, it really resembles nothing else. Delicate hints of coconut cream, then all these spices we simply talked about, particularly the aniseed. It’s uncommon to seek out this a lot anise, even chez Pernod Ricard (ahem), however because it occurs we like anise. Briefly, it is a true Martiniquan pastis. End: very lengthy and now very bitter. Excessive liquorice and excessive anise. Feedback: find it irresistible or detest it – your name. There’s one thing correctly bonkers about it.
SGP:471 – 89 factors. |
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T.D.L. 8 yo 2016/2025 (67.5%, The Colors of Rum, ex-bourbon, Trinidad, cask #4, 314 bottles)
One more blatant assassination try at 67.5% – the place are the authorities while you want them? Color: gold. Nostril: at this stage, we’re not removed from the Vagabond, each estery (glues) and recent and fruity (pineapple, pear, amyl diacetate and so forth). With water: fairly exceptional the way it falls into line, changing into comfortable and fruity (pear liqueur), but additionally exhibiting beautiful and stylish touches of recent tyres, engine oil, plus honeysuckle, iris, jasmine… All of that is somewhat fascinating to observe. Mouth (neat): it hits onerous, all glue and pear certainly, so let’s not linger – water, shortly… With water: bang on, fairly superb how water smooths the whole lot out, even when some notes of sticking plaster begin to emerge, alongside lemons and lemon balm. End: lengthy and surprisingly salty. Feedback: an actual treasure hunt, as one regularly tames it down from 67.5% to round 45%.
SGP:562 – 88 factors. |
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We’re heading straight to Jamaica…
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HD 9 yo 2015/2025 ‘DOK’ (68.9%, The Colors of Rum, Jamaica, Version #17, cask #2, 297 bottles) 
I belief you recognize that in rum, ‘HD’ doesn’t stand for Harley-Davidson, proper? However ‘DOK’ means 1,500 to 1,700 gr esters/hlpa, which is roughly the ‘eleven’ on Nigel Tufnel’s Spinal Faucet scale. Color: deep gold. Nostril: at such energy, there’s barely something perceptible, one merely needs to save lots of her/his nostril and olfactory bulb. Let’s say there’s a little bit of acetone, Formica, and balsa. With water: dried pears, jujubes, bicycle patches, an previous moped, worn tyres, and a real heap of dried flowers, which is somewhat uncommon. Mouth (neat): nicely, this isn’t actually ‘pleasurable’ at this energy, it’s nearly, say form of vulgar (Everclear is close to) and ‘industrial’. Let’s transfer on… With water: significantly better, although it stays a contact odd, jumbled, rounded, curious, and never all that ‘DOK’ in the long run. These beasts are really troublesome to carry right down to a great consuming energy, it appears we somewhat failed right here, to be completely trustworthy. End: similar. Feedback: I believe we considerably botched this one, frankly. Mea Culpa.
SGP:552 – 82 factors. |
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Hampden 1 yo 2023/2025 ‘Oloroso’ (62.3%, The Colors of Rum for Catawiki, Jamaica, cask #135, 75 bottles) 
1,300–1,400 gr esters/hlpa right here, so a correct C<>H. One should say, the ultra-young HDs from this sequence we’ve tasted to this point have been nothing wanting interstellar. Color: full gold. Nostril: UHU glue, formic acid, gherkin brine, and garlicky mussels in white wine. With water: extra petrichor, recent tar and black garlic. I discover it completely sensible, I worry. Mouth (neat): as for the oloroso, who is aware of, however the remaining – glue and salted liquorice galore – is completely attractive. One simply must get pleasure from this somewhat, let’s say, extreme model. With water: very good saline rigidity, marked by whiffs of acetone and ammonia. It’s completely mad, actually. End: large salty and ‘chemical’ bitterness, which inevitably pushes the drinker right into a bout of introspection, one thing alongside the traces of, do I actually like this, and in that case, why do I prefer it, am I regular, will society choose me, and many others, and many others, and many others. Feedback: pure insanity, the sort you merely received’t discover in malt whisky; bacterial fermentation has clearly turn out to be the flavour of the day. Simply saying…
SGP:374 – 90 factors. |
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HD 15 yo 2009/2025 ‘DOK’ (55.9%, The Whisky Jury, The Ester Hunter, Jamaica, refill cask, cask #3, 173 bottles)
Simply to remind you, that’s 1,500 to 1,700 gr esters/hlpa. Octomore seems to be like a lemonade compared. Color: pale gold. Nostril: it’s somewhat immaculate but removed from easy, on seawater, citrus, oysters, tyres, clams, cigarette ash, seaweed, and peat smoke… Peat smoke? With water: you’ve got simply opened an enormous jar of pickled gherkins – congratulations! Mouth (neat): large certainly, mezcal and burnt tyres, cocoa, ashes, hyper-intense espresso… With water: quite a lot of salinity, which barely upsets the remaining, although we occur to adore saline (previously ‘mineral’, previously ‘salty’, sometimes ‘vertical’) wines and spirits. End: very lengthy however a bit of mad, let’s be trustworthy. It feels a bit such as you’ve simply drunk the complete Mediterranean Sea, from Gibraltar to the Gulf of Iskenderun. Feedback: what a magnificence, that is the manzanilla of rum! However beware, if ultra-salty spirits aren’t your factor, step apart and go away the bottles for these of us who’re into it. Us, as an example.
SGP:364 – 91 factors. |
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 Verify the index of all rums we have tasted to this point
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