So Gregarious Grump is the label by Kris Hart of Houston Whiskey Group… Same person that is behind Prideful Goat… Except the Grump is for rums and brandies… I got some samples. Let’s do it. https://www.gregariousgrump.com/rums
Guyana (Diamond) 2003, 16 years old , Gregarious Grump, 46.8%
The nose is woody with caramel vanilla, light mint. Very solid toasted vanilla and wood shavings core on the palate, bordering on light varnish bitterness, not overly sweet and lower proof makes it imminently sippable though. Long warm and light minty aftertaste. Overall: I like Guyanese rum. This bottling is somewhat inconspicuous in among plenty of other casks but an excellent casual drinker. Value: N/A
Score: B+
Guyana (Diamond) 2003, 16 years old , Gregarious Grump, 54.5%
The nose intensity is amped up, to almost vanilla extract levels. The palate is full of sweet vanilla syrup, wood shavings, toasted oak. Excellent dessert balance that leans towards custard notes. Somewhat short, but yet again sweet and lightly spiced aftertaste follows. Overall: Right up my alley on sweetness and overall balance. Imagine cinnamon-dusted vanilla custard cake. Excellent nightcap here. Value: N/A
Score: A-
Guyana (Diamond) 2006, 16 years old , Gregarious Grump, 52.1%
Pine resin and mint on the nose. More pine resin, this time with brown sugar, dark honey, a touch of bitterness that doesn’t overwhelm the palate. Medium length aftertaste that’s genty fading into balanced and lightly spiced hard candies. Overall: A standout of the tasting here… Easy A! Excellent stuff. This is totally up my alley. Value: N/A
Score: A
Belize (Travelers) 2006, 14 years old, Gregarious Grump, 65.1%
Dark sugar molasses and vanilla is the name of the game here. The nose is nearly burnt sugar. More highly toasted bitterness on the palate, backed and balanced by sweetness, a touch of fermenting funk, vanilla, dark wood, tons of baking spices. Long sweet aftertaste follows with cinnamon, cloves and a touch of star anise. Overall: Excellent stuff, even if a touch bitter in its flavor profile and balance. Value: N/A
Score: B+
Jamaica (Long Pond) 1998, 22 years old, Plantation (K&L Store Pick) Single Cask, 49.4%
Filled into a used barrel and aged tropically for 18 years before being sent to France for finishing. After 2 years in old cognac barrels, the rum was transferred into ex-Bardstown Bourbon Company barrels which had previously held their wonderful Fusion bourbon. For what it’s worth that conflicts with the label… but I’ll trust the seller’s blurb more here. The nose is fragrant funk, musky sweet cologne. The palate, is wound up tight and yet incredibly complex with multiple layers of flavor going through real fast on the tongue. It’s like very tropical rum flavor together… jammed into very tight band. A veritable rum flavor rainbow I surf across. Very long mellow and sweet aftertaste follows with light sweetness funk and mint that calms down the palate after the crazy race that is the palate. It’s proof is about right out of the bottle with water not adding much to the experience but arguably diluting the flavor somewhat. Overall: This is crazily enjoyable, a little too sweet for some but darn it’s really tasty in a spiced custard pie kind of way. Value: Prices at $130… it’s pretty solid value considering lots of less reputable (or dishonest) rums are priced at much higher point.
https://www.klwines.com/p/i?i=1605705
Score: A-
Panama, 8 years old, Grander, @SFWBSS PS, 49.6%
Alrighty, so this is a bit cheat-y but I gotta record this. This was a great bottle, I’ve drank it as my daily driver on vacation. Panama Grander is solid tiki pour. Value: This was priced at $40! A steal!
Score: B+
Jamaica (New Yarmouth) 1994, 27 years old, Gregarious Grump, 67.5%
That proof is fire and is shockingly high after 27 years in a cask. Also shocking it doesn’t drink anywhere near that proof but at a relatively ‘gentle’ 60 or so. The nose is vanilla bomb with some old wood varnish notes. The palate is multilayered, complex, cinnamon vanilla creme brulee with a LOT of toasted sugar on top. Very long, slowly fading sweet aftertaste follows full of gentle spice and yet again cinnamon. Overall: This is Cinnamon Toast Crunch in a glass! I’m really enjoying drinking but it’s got such layered and complex character that it really requires some contemplation between sips. A true definition of a ’sipper’. Value: It’s MSRP ~$200 (since I got a bottle on sale for about $155). I’d say at 200 it’s a tough call but at the sale price it’s worth it. It’s not every day you can casually come across excellent single cask of that age.
Score: A
Barbados (Foursquare) 2009, 12 year old, Exceptional Selection XVII, 60%
This is a blend of pot and column still distillate tropically aged in ex-bourbon casks. Smells like toasted sugar, tropical fruits, and lots and lots of bourbon spices. The palate is… full of toasted sugar, tropical fruits, and bourbon spices. The aftertaste is… full of tropical fruits and bourbon spices gently fading. Overall: Absolutely excellent. There’s not much to complain here, though perhaps 60% abv is a little hot on its own and needs a drop of water in there. Additionally, it’s a touch… of a one-note… A very excellent note it is but there are no layered flavor harmony here, just excellence in execution. Value: This was ~$90-100, and Foursquare distillery originals provide excellent value here.
Score: A-
Guyana (El Dorado) 2009, 12 years old, Single Still “Versailles” Cask Strength, 56.2%
The stand out of the 2022 SF Rumfest for me. This is… Interesting. Distilled in the wooden pot still and bottled at cask strength this rm has been colored with caramel prior to aging because… Nobody knows why. My own speculative guess involves the theory that it wasn’t supposed to be bottled at cask proof originally and instead intended for lower-proofed general consumer market. Yet, here we are, with enthusiast-level bottle. The color is dark… Like dark chestnut. The nose is near-burnt coconut caramel all the way. The palate… start sweet, turns into near-bitter, and then the plethora of spices hit. Everything from citrus to, raspberries, to tropical fruits all together with the alcohol, dusted by cloves and nutmeg. The aftertaste is all of that secondary flavors with leche fruits and mango mostly winning though they still end up competing with a touch of caramelized sugar. This is all about riding that aftertaste here. Overall: A literally ball of flavor that hits right in the face. This has one unfortunate flaw and that is the caramel coloring… With age that caramel is perceived to be driving some of the flavor notes so mentally it’s hard to get over that visual of everything riding that coloring train. Basically, must like aged caramel to enjoy it, but if you do… It’s a banger. Value: This was $139 which is mediocre pricing for a 12 year rum when looked at blindly… But since I’ve already tried, it wasn’t a blind purchase.
Score: A
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Scoring Breakdown: https://www.aerin.or … age=scores_breakdown