That Boutique-y Rum Company Secret Distillery #1 – Jamaica – Batch 2

We’re back with another ‘secret’ but not so ‘secret’ Jamaican bottling from That Boutique-y Rum Company. I reviewed the initial Batch 1 release here and found it to be a pretty pleasant release, a little different to many of the usual independent ‘secret Jamaican distillery’ releases. So essentially, That Boutique-y Rum Company aim to bring interesting expressions, not categorised by colour or ‘style’ to Rum Geeks, Adventurous Rookies and the Rum Curious. As the consultant at the helm is Peter Holland of The Floating Rumshack fame, expect some belters.

As a quick aside, there may or may not be some information on said ‘Secret Jamaican Distillery’ if you were to click here or here.

But without further ado or fanfare, lets get into this one.

That Boutique-y Rum Company Secret Distillery #1 – Jamaica – Batch 2 – 51.5% abv – Pure Single Rum – 1821 Bottles

If you recall from the previous review of Batch 1, that release was 9 years old and it was matured in both Tropical and Continental climates. You will also recall that it was from the ‘secret’ Worthy Park Distillery. This release is 6 years old and dependent upon bottling was distilled in either 2013 or 2012. The information available tells us that this Rum has entirely Continental maturation…..but for a change, all of those 6 years were spent inside an ex-Sauternes cask. Sauternes being a sweet French desert wine from Bordeaux made from Sémillon, Sauvignon Blanc, and Muscadelle grapes. The grapes used are chosen as they have been affected by Botrytis cinerea, also known as “noble rot“. This has the effect of making the grapes slightly ‘raisined’ which results in a concentrated and quite distinct flavour to the wine. A release of 1821 bottles, mine is number 1468, the Rum will be naturally coloured and will not have been chill filtered. Now Worthy Park is quite unique and recognisable, but what exactly has that 6 years in an ex-Sauternes barrel done to it….

Tasting Notes

Nose: Nice and astringent to start out. Wearing it’s youth on its sleeve. Definitely Jamaican, definitely Worthy Park. Overripe banana, but dialled down. Black tea. A little savoury too…maybe a touch of cured meat. A spicy nose with ginger and a hint of sweet fragrant spice. Ripe Victoria plums. Fresh apple juice. A date like toffee asserts itself alongside sweet maple and pecan pastries. Brazil nuts and raisins. Light molasses providing that sweet / bitter interplay. A hint of oak appears at the back end and brings with it warm spicy fruit loaf. Very appealing.

Mouth: Nice and lightly sweet entry. Nothing too hot. Nothing too distracting. A very prominent sweet white wine note (well obviously…..Sauternes) but carrying something darker and sweeter… maybe prunes in a sticky toffee pudding. Vanilla ice cream topped with a thick, sticky PX. Raisins raisins raisins. Plump and juicy. Growing oak on the mid palate brings a pleasing dryness that doesn’t dominate in any way, the spike of peppery barrel spice and a hint of molasses bitterness. The dark fruit theme develops with slice of my Auntie Hazel’s fruit loaf straight from the oven with butter on it. Light warmed banana and a spoonful of molasses. Garibaldi biscuits. The medium length finish is the sum of its parts, completing the experience with the return of youthful alcohol vapours at the back end and sweet candied pecans.

4 / 5

Plenty to like, and at times I think that I prefer this to Batch #1……at times I don’t though. Either way, at just shy of £37 its definitely worth picking up.

© Steven James and Rum Diaries Blog 2019. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material, both written and photographic without the express and written permission from this blog/sites author and owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Steven James and Rum Diaries Blog with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

That Boutique-y Rum Company Blended Rum #1 – Jamaica

Back into another Boutique-y Rum Company release. This time it’s a blended Rum comprising entirely Jamaican components. You can read a little about another Boutique-y Rum release and a little about the company itself here. Now that has been said, let’s get into its ribs.

That Boutique-y Rum Company Blended Rum #1 – Jamaica – 55% abv

The bottle hints at the use of Dunder with its skull and crossbones and bubbling, festering pit hogging the label. We also get little in terms of information. Just that the blend is composed of Pot AND Column Rum from a mix of Jamaican distilleries. Digging a little deeper we can ascertain that the blend components were distilled at some point in 2008 and bottled in 2018 making the blend 9 years old. Requesting info from Peter Holland has revealed more information. The Pot Distilled components are from Long Pond, New Yarmouth, Clarendon (Monymusk) and the Secret Distillery from Lluidas Vale…..*cough* Worthy Park *cough*. The Column component is from Clarendon (Monymusk) too.

Long Pond has seen a fair few releases recently and sitting around 18 miles away from Hampden it is also located in the Trelawny Parish. It releases very vibrant and fruity Rums from my experience with some of the continental aged products that I’ve tried and a fair few batshit mental offerings if the NRJ Velier releases are anything to go by. The VRW and STC❤️E are beautifully drinkable expressions whereas the TECA and TECC releases are monsters. New Yarmouth is the home of J Wray & Nephew and we have been fortunate to see some amazing releases from the distillery via Compagnie des Indes….Ethyl Acetate is king in these bottlings. Clarendon, the home of Monymusk and Captain Morgan produces both Pot and Column distillates and is more of a large scale modern facility. Worthy Park you will know all about.

So as you’ll see, quite a varied blend and hopefully the results will be positive….but there’s only one way to find out.

Tasting Notes

Nose: Yup. Definitely Jamaican. Definitely Long Pond. That bright, almost candied tropical fruit is first on the nose. Guava, mango and papaya. There follows a huge hefty weight of ethyl acetate bringing forth Grilled Pineapple, varnish, pear drops and glue that can only be the New Yarmouth kicking the door in. Crisp notes of white wine. There is a beautifully solid vanilla, warming oak and banana loaf backbone to the blend. This carries those bright acidic and fruity top notes and allows them to play so well together. Time brings Kola Kubes, banana jam and a hint of eucalyptus. Glorious stuff

Mouth: Initial entry is beautifully sweet with a very heated follow-up. It’s quite spirity initially and does display some of its 55% abv. You soon acclimatise to this though. Very fruity. It’s reminiscent of a mixed tropical fruit jam. A beautiful interplay of Pineapple, Guava and fresh Papaya with just a squeeze of lime juice. The mid palate brings the weight of the oak into play and this begins to dry your mouth from the tongue back. Spiced oak and pepper in turn announce vanilla, salted caramel and a beautifully sticky molasses note. The finish is not particularly long, choosing to make a sharp exit. Grilled pineapple, fresh papaya and a hint of that beautifully enticing caramel right at the back-end with lingering peppery oak dead centre of your tongue.

4.5 / 5

For me, this one is all about the nose. It’s so nuanced and interesting. You get the feeling that you’re experiencing some great individual distillates. The palate whilst it never reaches the extreme highs of the nose is superb. I have enjoyed it neat, it makes a great Milk Punch, Rum Cow and the other week I made a most enjoyable Jungle Bird with it. 485 bottles of this blend have been released and I’m on my bottle number two. I may even pick up a third before it disappears from shelves. I suggest that you follow suit.

*Hydrometer Test Result – Label stated abv 55% – Measured abv 55% – 0 g/l additives*

© Steven James and Rum Diaries Blog 2019. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material, both written and photographic without the express and written permission from this blog/sites author and owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Steven James and Rum Diaries Blog with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

That Boutique-y Rum Company Secret Distillery #1 – Jamaica

That Boutique-y Rum Company follows hot on the heels of two other That Boutique-y entities…..their Whisky Company and Gin Company. I own a bottle of the Spit Roasted Pineapple Gin and also a couple of the Whisky bottlings….a lovely 11yr Aultmore and a killer peated 8yr expression from The English Whisky Company. I was clearly going to be very keen to pick up a few expressions from the rum range…..seemingly I ended up buying more than “a few”. But a little about the company first. The premise behind the company is to bring interesting expressions, not categorised by colour or ‘style’ to Rum Geeks, Adventurous Rookies and the Rum Curious. With the consultant at the helm being Peter Holland, they’ve certainly managed to bring a few interesting things to the market. So far I have picked up Blended Rum #1 – Jamaica (2 bottles), Diamond Distillery (Versailles Still) 13yr Old, O Reizinho 3yr Old from Madeira and this Secret Distillery #1 – Jamaica 9yr Old…..so let’s get into it.

That Boutique-y Rum Company Secret Distillery #1 – Jamaica – 58% abv – Pure Single Rum 

Let’s tackle the elephant in the room…..Secret Distillery. There’s only one distillery in a Jamaica that doesn’t permit independent bottlers to use the distillery name on the bottle….so we’re obviously dealing with a Worthy Park product. You can familiarise yourself with the work of the quite excellent Worthy Park here. No year of distillation on the bottle but an age of 9yrs coupled with a release in 2018 would lead me to see it as being from a 2009 distillation. Mine is bottle 378 of 426 and it has been bottled at 58%. Whether that is cask strength or reduced, I’m unsure….the upcoming Worthy Park 12 year Barrel Strength is noted as being 57% so I would say that it’s probably as close to cask strength as rounding down will allow. How many of its years have been spent in a tropical climate is unknown…but I’d hazard a guess at in excess of 5. I have queried the maturation locations and also the barrel marque so will hope to feed back. Although not noted, I’d also assume the ethos of the brand is no caramel colour and no chill filter. For future releases I’d like to see maturation location(s) listed similar to the Transcontinental and Excellence Rhum bottlings. Maybe an evolution of the rear label to include a little more info….or have it website listed. Anyhow….onwards.

Tasting Notes

Nose: Quite boozy initially. It shows its 58%. Time definitely aids this Rum as it definitely opens up. Certainly Worthy Park, but we don’t get the immediate up front banana in this. Instead it’s more spice led. Ginger juice. Spiced Fruit cake mix that has just been put into the loaf tin…think Raisins, Dried mixed peels and Molasses. This develops through a little of the Worthy Park stewed black tea and dialled down overripe banana to reveal a touch of Bakewell tart. Time brings a growing sweetness of cola pips, Perfumed oak and Wham Bars. Spiced barrel notes linger on the nose. Not completely your typical Worthy Park.

Mouth: Warming entry with a few sharp fruity notes. Gooseberries. Some fresh green apple. This is short-lived and soon develops into quite an oak led experience on the palate initially. Dry with plenty of black pepper. Vanilla. Spicy barrel notes and a hint of freshly picked pineapple mint. The mid palate is all tropical fruit. Banana, light Pineapple and Guava. This is accompanied by coconut shavings and molasses. Spice bun. Burnt sugar on Scottish shortbread. The long finish brings more of those spicy barrel notes and black pepper along with development of the frangipane element of a Bakewell tart. There is a development of sharp fruity white wine notes towards to back end…wait long enough and pleasant medicinal notes appear.

4 / 5

It’s a strange one to sum up. I enjoy this Rum, even though it’s not your typical Worthy Park expression….maybe I enjoy it because it’s not a typical Worthy Park expression. I enjoy a few other Worthy Parks a lot more though. But these are the fully tropically matured offerings such as the Habitation Veliers and the Estates own releases. All of the above aside, it’s a good, but different Worthy Park offering. It’s definitely a grower, and time is most certainly its friend. A very good example of multi location matured Worthy Park. Plenty to enjoy.

*Hydrometer Test Result – Label stated abv 58% – Measured abv 58% – 0 g/l additives*

© Steven James and Rum Diaries Blog 2019. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material, both written and photographic without the express and written permission from this blog/sites author and owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Steven James and Rum Diaries Blog with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Berry Bros. and Rudd Hampden 17 Year Old 2000 Cask # 27 and Hampden 17 Year Old 2000 Cask # 54 The Whisky Barrel Exclusives

Hampden Estate will be familiar to any readers here as I have written about a few of their Rums. Information can be found here if you fancy a bit of background reading. It’s a place that I would love to visit, to see Rum making steeped in hundreds of years of history.

I want to get right into these bottles as there are two up for review today. Both are bottled by Berry Bros. and Rudd and both are Exclusive to The Whisky Barrel. They are both from a distillation in 2000 which would make them potentially LROK giving them an ester level of 200-400 g/hl AA. Not excessively high….but as we know….elevated ethyl acetate is not the key driver to a good rum. Both of these Rums are available from The Whisky Barrel for just shy of £85 each…..for 17 year old Hampden’s…not too bad.

Berry Bros. and Rudd Hampden 17 Year Old 2000 Cask # 27 The Whisky Barrel Exclusive – 57.2% abv – Pure Single Rum

Bottled at 57.2%, which we assume is cask strength, this release from Cask #27 saw 194 bottles.

Tasting Notes

Nose: Bright astringent ethyl acetate right away. Acidic sweet pineapple. Model glue. Varnish. Fruit is definitely a key facet to this rum with warm banana and a salty citrus oil backing up the pineapple. The sap from freshly sawn cedar…a memory that takes me back to making arrows in the shed at home as a child with my Dad. The freshness of pine mixed with menthol and eucalyptus. Something reminiscent of a new pair of suede trainers. Crazy stuff.

Mouth: Vibrant and sweet entry. It ticks all the relevant boxes. Pineapple. Banana. Tropical fruit leathers. Mango. Interestingly a bit of custard apple. In comes the savoury side of things on the mid palate led by a very well-integrated oak. Dry and peppery with spiced barrel notes. Olives. Brine. Salty crackers. Preserved lemons. Melting plastic makes an appearance. The long finish is spice led with the oak flexing its 17 years influence. Citrus, pineapple, play-dough, heavy acetone all sit in the mix. Quite a bit of peppery heat there too. It keeps your attention till the death. A hint of hazelnut and milk chocolate play off the oak. A lot to enjoy in here.

4.5 / 5

Berry Bros. and Rudd Hampden 17 Year Old 2000 Cask # 54 The Whisky Barrel Exclusive – 58.1% abv – Pure Single Rum

Bottled at 58.1%, which again we assume is cask strength, this release from Cask #54 saw 189 bottles.

Tasting Notes

Nose: I know that technically these are sister barrels…..same marque….same year of distillation….same maturation period….but the initial aromas are very different to barrel #27. Dialled down ethyl acetate and acidity gives way to a more vegetal and wood dominated nose. There’s something dirty like potatoes freshly removed from the ground. The fruit is there, definitely there but it is a background note initially. Warm pineapple upside down cake. Turmeric. Window putty. Fennel seeds. Sticking plasters. Menthol. Vanilla. Pencil shavings. Time allows the varnish and model glue to appear.

Mouth: Warming, sweet and quite refined…it is LROK I suppose. Fruit is here with pineapple, bananas, flamed orange peel. Dried tropical fruit….think mango, papaya and guava. Higher abv than cask #27 but it’s more approachable. Light brine and olives. The oak is a lot heavier in this sip on the mid palate. Far more spice from the wood. Fiery fresh ginger juice, a hint of Scotch bonnet and black pepper. Maybe even some allspice. Celery salt and fresh crunchy fennel. The finish is again….long. It’s far more savoury that the other cask though. Solid oak influence resplendent with all of the barrel spice notes mentioned. If the other cask was vibrant wood, this is a musty, older cask. Wet cardboard. Roasted stock vegetables with dominant celery. Good….but different.

4 / 5

Approachable cask strength Hampdens you say? Both great expressions of non tropically matured Hampdens….specifically the LROK marque. Not as intense as the tropically matured LROK that I have experienced but they’re both very good examples and both warrant a purchase if you have the funds. Cask # 27 is my favourite of the two given the profile consistency from nose to palate, but there is plenty to enjoy from the heavier wood influence on Cask #54.

© Steven James and Rum Diaries Blog 2019. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material, both written and photographic without the express and written permission from this blog/sites author and owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Steven James and Rum Diaries Blog with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

The Duchess Jamaica 2006 12 Year Old Rum

Back to it for the new year after a considerable break due to a multitude of things, and what better way to come back than with another independent bottling by a relative newcomer to the Rum scene. I covered a quite excellent bottling of a Foursquare by The Duchess and information on that can be found here. It also covers a little information on the brand and its owner Nils van Rijn. Another resource for some insight into The Duchess, and more specifically Nils can be found over at thefatrumpirate.

The Duchess Jamaica 2006 12 Year Old Rum – 57.9% abv – Pure Single Rum

Let’s dig into this bottling though. There is no distillery name on this bottle. The information given is that it was distilled in Lluidas Vale. Now we obviously know that we’re at Worthy Park with that information so The Duchess have carried out their contractual duty whilst we all have the information that we need.

Much has been written about Worthy Park on these pages and you can refresh yourself by clicking here.

Again the artwork has been produced by Hans Dillesse and yet again it is an absolutely beautiful label. Vibrant purple and white it appears to be the National flower of Jamaica, Lignum Vitae, or Wood of Life. Distilled in 2006 at Worthy Park this Rum, which is from cask number 4 was bottled in Autumn 2018 at its cask strength of 57.9% abv. No colour. No additives. It was a release of 268 bottles. It has seen 8 of it’s 12 years of maturation in Jamaica with the balance in continental Europe. It’s difficult to know which marque this is, but it’s a 2006 distillation, and initial visits to the glass have revealed an astringency last seen in the Habitation Velier 2006 which was the WPM Marque possessing an ester level of 120-239 gr/laa. However, information given to me by the ever forthcoming Zan at Worthy Park confirms that this is the WPL Marque.

Tasting Notes

Nose: We’re in familiar, comforting territory here. Isoamyl acetate central….the trademark Worthy Park overripe banana is very apparent sitting alongside spice bun, banana bread and black pepper. Quite medicinal with a beautiful sweetness and the sting of a little acetone. Tropical fruit is there in the form of mango and papaya but it’s not the main event. Light citrus oils blend with a hint of brine and some coastal aromas. Stewed black tea is present and accounted for and is carried on a beautifully well integrated oaken spine running through the rum.

Mouth: Sweetness the moment it crosses your lips. A beautifully sticky tropical fruit sweetness. This soon abates to bring a very hot peppery influence. Quite medicinal again with obvious black olives and preserved lemon. Mashed overripe banana, beautiful molasses and sticky ginger cake. Light cocoa notes have an interplay with a growing warming oak. There’s also a savoury turmeric note playing with the oak. Stewed black tea and slice of spice bun. The medicinal, almost coastal nature of the rum return to lead into the long finish that is resplendent with overripe banana, fresh ginger, well integrated warming oak, a whiff of smoke and salted liquorice. Molasses sticks with you for a good while afterwards.

4 / 5

There’s a lot to love in this bottle. I don’t think that it hits the highs of the fully tropically matured Habitation Velier 2006 which for me is one of, if not the best Worthy Park that I’ve tried, but it’s an absolute belter of a Rum. Its accessible enough to appeal to less seasoned palates and it also possesses enough complexity to keep your interest. It’s not going to break the bank at €65 a bottle and for that you get a very enjoyable and quite unique example of Worthy Park. I’m struggling to think of a poor example of Worthy Park aside from the obvious blot on the copybook from a few years ago. They are extremely popular with the Rum crowd but I genuinely believe that they need to be brought to a wider audience. Maybe 2019 will see that.

© Steven James and Rum Diaries Blog 2019. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material, both written and photographic without the express and written permission from this blog/sites author and owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Steven James and Rum Diaries Blog with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Ultimatum Worthy Park 10

Ultimatum Rums are released under the Little Distiller brand which is under the ownership of The Ultimate Whisky Company. Those companies are again under the ownership of spirits specialist van Wees from Amersfoort in the Netherlands. The Dutch company was founded by Han and Maurice van Wees in 1994 to allow them to buy, bottle and sell Whisky. The Ultimate is their independent Whisky bottling brand, Ultimatum is their independent Rum bottling brand. They apply the same principles to their Rum bottlings as they do their Whisky bottlings…..Single Cask offerings…..No Colouring…..No Chill Filtration….Presented at 46%.

Worthy Park I have written about quite extensively and you can find a few of my articles here. Worthy Park Estate is located at the geographical centre of Jamaica in the Parish of St. Catherine which is in a valley known as Vale of Lluidas. Founded in 1670, the Worthy Park Estate has only ever been owned by three families. Commercial cultivation of sugarcane began in 1720 and has continued unabated to this day, and Rum production at Worthy Park has been recorded from as early as 1741, which makes it the oldest producer still in existence in Jamaica. Rum production at the facility ceased in the 1960’s and then some 40 years later, in 2004, a modern facility was created by Gordon Clarke. It opened in 2005 creating a multitude of marques. Upon their re-entry to the Rum market, the decision was made to begin selling bulk rum to brokers who would then sell to bottlers. This Ultimatum bottling is a result of a 2006 distillation. Production of all Worthy Park Rums takes place on their Forsyths Double Retort Pot Still.

Ultimatum Worthy Park 10 – 46% abv – Pure Single Rum

So, adhering to their principles, this 10-year-old Worthy Park, distilled in March 2006 and bottled in September 2016 has not been chill filtered, has no caramel colour added, and is completely free of nasties. A single cask offering (cask #19), 263 bottles were yielded at 46% abv. It cost me somewhere around 35 – 40 euros.

Tasting Notes

Nose: A warming and quite ‘bready’ nose. Bread and butter pudding. Quite a pleasant bright fruitiness to the early exchanges. Almost a touch of acetone. Could this be high-end WPL or low-end WPM? Not as banana forward as other offerings. It plays off some well-integrated oak with warm banana bread and molasses. The bright fruit notes are maybe some crisp apple and there is definitely a sharpness and a suggestion of gooseberries. The banana bread becomes quite malty and is accompanied by stewed strong black tea notes. Sugar on warm porridge and the hint of candyfloss.

Mouth: Quite a warming and peppery entry initially. This soon abates an brings the sweetness of banana bread that has just started to burn. A smidgen of treacle. Malt loaf and butter. The promise of the nose doesn’t fully translate to the palate though. Quite a weak mid-palate with light grain whisky sweetness (that’ll be the candfloss) and light oak with a whiff of smoke. The short to medium length finish is a little underwhelming with the sweetness of molasses and mashed overripe banana that rides through the oak into quite a dominant grain whisky quality. You’re left with the memory of bonfire toffee and a light medicinal note.

There are so many good examples of Worthy Park Rums on the market. This is competitively priced and has not been tampered with, for that it should be applauded. But although pleasant, there are better offerings out there. It never quite hits the mark of few of the independent 2005 releases and comes nowhere close to their own tropically aged releases. But nevertheless, if you don’t want to spend a fortune and you want to buy and appreciate a solid Rum at an accessible price, this could be just what you’re after.

3.5 / 5

 

© Steven James and Rum Diaries Blog 2018. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material, both written and photographic without the express and written permission from this blog/sites author and owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Steven James and Rum Diaries Blog with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Kill Devil Hampden 10 Year Old 2007 Cask Strength – The Whisky Barrel Exclusive

This review marks another Cask Strength Hampden Release from the Hunter Laing Kill Devil range exclusive to The Whisky Barrel…..my second review of a Whisky Barrel Exclusive Hampden this week! There was a previous Hampden 10 year TWB exclusive released earlier this year….in March…and another 16 year released to coincide with this 10 year. Hampden of course specialise in heavy 100% pot still rums harking back to Rum production of days gone by with the Plantation tracing its roots back to 1753. I have previously written about Hampden Estates own releases here, a 17 year Kill Devil Hampden release here and the recent 16 year Hampden Whisky Barrel Exclusive release here.

Without further ado, let’s get into it.

Kill Devil Hampden 2007 Cask Strength – TWB Exclusive – 62.5% abv – Pure single Rum

This 10-year-old Rum is from a 2007 distillation and it has only Continental maturation. Presented at a cask strength of 62.5% it has no caramel colour and has not been chill filtered. With so many marques available with varying ester levels, it’d be interesting to find out what marque this is….without that information to hand, we’ll just have to try it.

Tasting Notes

Nose: With glass sitting on a table next to me this rum is so powerful that it feels like it’s beneath my nose. Very creamy. Lots of ethyl acetate. Sweet overripe banana, chargrilled pineapple and sharp cranberries. Again, very ripe juicy strawberries. Something acidic lurks like cider vinegar. Brine. Preserved lemons. Pickled cornichons with mustard seeds. Pink grapefruit rind. Molasses. Warm tires. Melting plastic. Light barrel notes. Sappy wood and eucalyptus. Beautifully vibrant.

Mouth: Neat it is very intense. Initially very sweet with bright fruit. This becomes quite acidic and then very dry very very quickly. Almost disappearing. I’ve only felt that to this length before with unaged DOK. Well stewed breakfast tea develops. The overriding taste is burnt toast with lots of butter…..making this rum an instant favourite as I use the smoke alarm to tell me when my toast is ready! With water it’s slightly more approachable, but still hellishly intense. The opening is slightly sweet and creamy and is all about beautiful Bajan Banana Jam….the best jam that I’ve ever tasted. Candied pineapple. Quite a bit of spice in the form of ginger, cinnamon bark and an earthy turmeric. The oak maturation displays itself more here…and it drags the fruit and spice onto the dry, oak led mid palate. Quite oily and tarry with a real dry spice note. Molasses. The finish, which is frankly sublime is initially fruity with that banana jam and pineapple before the cider vinegar and cornichon appears. Burnt, buttery toast is a real theme here and it marks an earthy return of the turmeric. Bonfire embers, molasses and burnt rubber round things out. The finish is a little short in the end. Perhaps due to the marque. It’s akin to trying pot still rum straight off the still…..initially intense and it then disperses far too quickly. Though the molasses is still with me.

4.5 / 5

It’s again a very very good rum, and all told, I prefer it’s youthful abandon to the slightly more refined 16 year. Both warrant your money though. To buy one however, I’d buy this.

© Steven James and Rum Diaries Blog 2018. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material, both written and photographic without the express and written permission from this blog/sites author and owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Steven James and Rum Diaries Blog with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Kill Devil Hampden 16 Year Old 2001 Cask Strength – The Whisky Barrel Exclusive

Specialist online retailer The Whisky Barrel always seem to be commissioning something interesting, whether whisky or rum….fortunately for us, but not our wallets, they seem to be upping the ante when it comes to their rum releases with a few solid Berry Bros. and Hunter Laing offerings.

There have been a few Cask Strength Hampden Kill Devil releases by Hunter Laing of late, this 2001 marks another to be released as an exclusive for The Whisky Barrel. This 16 year hails from a sister cask to the previous 2001 TWB exclusive released in July of this year. There is also 10 year 2007 to accompany this release which is again the second 10 year TWB exclusive to be released this year. Hampden of course specialise in heavy 100% pot still rums harking back to days gone by with the Plantation tracing its roots back to 1753. I have previously written about Hampden Estates own releases here, a 17 year Kill Devil Hampden release here and a previous Whisky Barrel Exclusive release here.

Kill Devil Hampden 16 Year Old 2001 Cask Strength – TWB Exclusive – 61.2% abv – Pure single Rum

This 156 bottle run of a 16-year-old Rum is from a 2001 distillation and it has only Continental maturation. Presented at a cask strength of 61.2% it has no caramel colour and has not been chill filtered. The 2001 distillation date hints that it may be the <>H marque as mentioned in the Hampden section of the Single Cask Rum website. The official Velier 70th Anniversary release of the Hampden <>H, a 2010 distillation of that marque with a full 7 years tropical maturation is a bottle that evaded me upon launch and still evades me to this day. I have however tried it as a result of the generosity of a sample from a friend…..it left me wanting more though.

Tasting Notes

Nose: Astringent varnish. Furniture polish. A freshly opened tin of gloss paint. Intense pear drop acetone but with a really fruity and sharp nose. Overripe banana. Caramelised pineapple. Haribo strawberry sweets. There’s real depth to the fruit and a stewed plum and prune quality…Still quite sharp though. A little time in the glass brings freshly sliced ginger, an almost fragrant floral coriander seed. Toasted coconut. Pencil shavings. Freshly sawn wood. Peppery. Growing oak presence. It starts to become quite smoke driven, well, more burnt splints from Chemistry lessons, and for a while that dominates. Coming back to it, quite salty. Olives. Brine. Light menthol character. Pine air freshener. Intense stuff

Mouth: With no water…..Warming, hot, spicy entry. Salty, zestly lemon and olives. Black Forest ham. Heavy molasses. Dry dry dry oak. With water….Still spicy, still hot…but fruitier too. Caramelised pineapple that’s just caught…it gives rise to a bittersweet treacle. Burnt banana loaf. A nice backbone of oak carries things along. Strawberries, very similar to the Rum Fire Velvet….Citrus peel. The mid palate is dominated by spicy, grippy oak. Cinnamon (bark not powdered), ginger. Strong building site cabin tea. Soft liquorice and sugar-coated liquorice torpedoes develop. The finish, which is measured in tens of minutes starts off with salty liquorice and a touch of black olive before the cooked burnt fruit kicks it’s way in…Pineapple, banana and then a bitter lemon zest. Quite tangy. Very well-integrated musty oak coated in molasses rounds things out.

Well balanced, poised and multi-faceted. Depth of flavour and aroma that others would kill for. Hampden fares better than most when it comes to continental maturation, which is a bonus as it’s all that we’ve had from them for a while as far as aged stock goes…..at least up until the Habitation Velier releases were unleashed….and now their own Estate bottlings which will be on these pages soon. This is a very good example of a very good distilleries output at a bit of a bargain price…..though the previous release was a few quid cheaper!

4.5 / 5

© Steven James and Rum Diaries Blog 2018. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material, both written and photographic without the express and written permission from this blog/sites author and owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Steven James and Rum Diaries Blog with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Habitation Velier Worthy Park 2007

We’re no strangers to Worthy Park here at Rum Diaries HQ, we even started up the Worthy Park Society on Facebook, which you can join by clicking here. We have also written about quite a few Worthy Park releases. Todays review focuses on another Habitation Velier bottling, but this time it actually has the Worthy Park Distillery name on the label as opposed to WP or Forsyths from the previous Habitation Velier releases…..and talking about Habitation Velier releases, my thoughts on the earlier bottlings can be found here and a little history of the Worthy Park Estate can be found here. Right back to it…..

Worthy Park 2007 – Pure Single Jamaican Rum – 59% abv – 10 years old – WPL Marque

What is different about this release apart from the name. Well, a distillation date of 2007 for a start….but it is also the WPL marque. WPL being the Worthy Park Light marque with an ester level of 60-119 gr/hL AA which we first saw in the Habitation Velier Forsyths WP 2005. It was a very impressive Rum. This too has seen a maturation period of 10 years at the Worthy Park Estate, the Vale of Lluidas in the Parish of St Catherine. It also suffered a loss of 64% to evaporation….but this release is presented at 59%. Time to dig in….

Tasting Notes

Nose: Quite a calm approach for a 59% spirit. The trademark overripe banana is clearly present, the signature of Worthy Park. Quite waxy. A nice level of astringency, not too nose destroying and not underwhelming either. Nice integration of the alcohol here. New white board marker pens. Quite a lot of cereal notes and some spicy rye. Ice cream wafers. A touch of milk chocolate with freshly shaved coconut. Black tea, a freshly opened bag of mixed nuts and a beautiful warming and slightly spicy sweet oak. Something ‘dairy’ is in there too.

Mouth: Big oily mouthfeel. A real chewy palate pleaser. Citrus notes, salty lemon rind. Sweet cure bacon. Heavy bourbon oak influence and well-integrated alcohol. You have to wait for the sweetness to join the party…..but it does. Cocoa, banana chips, biscuity cheesecake base, BBQ bananas. Sweet grain whisky. The mid palate has the fading sweetness of coconut and milk chocolate and brings forward the stewed black tea before the spicy grains and bourbon oak make another appearance. The long finish is full and spice led initially. Very oaky, drying and suitably warm. A hint of molasses bitter sweetness. A short wait brings a smoke led oaken character and lightly smoked cheese. Molasses rounds off a truly pleasurable rum. So very drinkable.

Again Worthy Park have produced a corker of a rum. The only thing that this rum suffers from for me is the fact that it’s not the exemplary 2006 WPM…..but it’s not meant to be. Different marques, different Rums. They are all 100% unmistakably Worthy Park but they are doing things slightly differently than the Hampden, Monymusk and Long Pond releases. Less bright fruit, more banana and oak influence. It works, makes them unique and I love everything that they stand for and nearly everything that they produce. Colour me smitten. It’s worth your money.

5 / 5

© Steven James and Rum Diaries Blog 2018. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material, both written and photographic without the express and written permission from this blog/sites author and owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Steven James and Rum Diaries Blog with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Transcontinental Rum Line Jamaica WP2013

The Transcontinental Rum Line brand is owned by La Maison du Whisky and in their own words:

“The Transcontinental Rum Line is inspired by Rum Casks’ historical trips between the New World and the Old Continent. From the beginning of its production Rum has always been shipped to Europe for nautical, economical and technical reasons”

So what we gather is that the Rums within the range have a portion of both Tropical and Continental maturation. Fortunately this information is housed on the front and rear bottle labels.

Now I’ve written on a lot of solely Tropically matured Worthy Park releases, some unaged and some having a 12 month ‘finish’ in a Continental climate. This information can be found by clicking here, here and here. With a wealth of other Worthy Park bottlings on my shelves, this number of articles will only increase.

So lets dig straight into it……

Transcontinental Rum Line Jamaica WP2013 – 57% abv – Pure Single Rum

As stated on the label, this Rum is presented at 57% (Navy Strength). Distilled at Worthy Park in 2013 and bottled in Europe in 2017 it spent 57% of its maturation time in Continental weather giving just shy of 2 years maturation in Jamaica and just in excess of 2.5 years maturation in a Continental climate.

Tasting Notes

Nose: Oily in the glass and of a light straw colour. Huge nose of pear drops, acetone and model glue. Some window putty too. Trademark Worthy Park banana but it’s a vibrant green banana initially carried on those stinging estery notes. A large punchy molasses note runs straight through the nose carrying with it buttery pastry wrapped treacle tart and creamy vanilla custard. There is a small wood influence but it’s more sappy and resinous than outright oak. Time in the glass works wonders for this rum….allow the initial sting of young alcohol to subside and you’ll be rewarded. It has that salty oily citrus and powdered sugar thing that I adore in young Ledaig offerings. A little rubbery note follows most visits to the glass along with brine and black olive tapenade. It has a grassy agricole like edge and it’s also a little ‘farm yard’ with notes of hay.

Mouth: Very heated entry with a dominant peppery note gives way to a growing sweetness once the initial alcohol shock has subsided. Light cocoa and milky hot chocolate. It becomes quite salty too….salted liquorice. That trademark overripe banana appears and brings with it caramelised sugar and syrupy pineapple. Tropical fruit topped flapjacks. Quite drying on the mid palate which is where the molasses takes hold. Light nuttiness and a lot of spice….think nutmeg and fennel seeds. There’s a slight metallic tang to the rum and it sits off the back of the molasses notes that feels like licking treacle off a spoon….in fact I’ve previously described this rum as being like licking treacle off a spoon whilst someone flambes bananas in the next room. It’s youth remains very apparent throughout and the alcohol is not as well-integrated as I would like and as well-integrated as some of the unaged Worthy Park that I’ve tried, but sometimes that doesn’t ruin the experience….and this is one of those times. Olives, vibrant cane and floral notes nestle in the resultant vapours at the back of your throat. The finish is a long one, resplendent with those caramelised mushy bananas, molasses and salty brine. Growing peppery dryness and those acetone vapours keep you company for a good while.

It’s a very good rum. I purchased my second bottle the day after my first sip of this bottle. It sits on an almost 50/50 split of tropical and continental maturation and is a very good example of that practice. Sure it’s not as impressive as some of the Habitation Velier releases or their own Single Estate Reserve Cask Strength and the alcohol integration issues could be off-putting, but it just works for me. I love the stuff. Makes a killer daiquiri too.

4 / 5

© Steven James and Rum Diaries Blog 2018. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material, both written and photographic without the express and written permission from this blog/sites author and owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Steven James and Rum Diaries Blog with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.