The first two samples are from friend Max. Thank you Max!
Cadenhead Green Label Rum, 50%
Bottled circa 2010 is my only information. Caribbean rum blend. Sourced from NoIdea Lands. Likely the standard suspects of Barbados, Guyana, and Jamaica being the bulk of the blend, plus some others. It sure smells like a blend of Guyana and Jamaica. Sweet vanilla, funk, medicinal notes, light mint. The palate is mostly the same as the nose, toasted vanilla notes, a touch of funk. Aftertaste brings a solid core of wood right at the edge of bitterness and mint notes from the nose make a reappearance. Overall: Enjoyingly sippable yet not outstanding while neat, this flavor profile seems to have too much going on in the palate department leaving a confused and unfocused impression. I feel that I would prefer it better in a mixed drink, even though I don’t really know how to make a good rum drink. Value: N/A.
Not sure if it’s this but… Let’s assume that this is it: https://www.klwines.com/p/i?i=1176179
Score: B- (Rum)
Mauritius 2005, Holmes Cay, 50%
Now we’re talking! A 15 years rum from far-far-away aged in ex-cognac casks. Very wood-forward with strong toasted vanilla undercurrent nose that thankfully doesn’t overwhelm. Smells like vanilla extract to be honest. Awesome! More wood and vanilla on the palate initially, then all sorts of tropical and orchard fruit come out in a fruit punch-like boquiet. Coconut, mango, peaches, the secondary notes are very fruity, in part thanks to the cognac casks. More tropical fruit punch on the aftertaste with wood notes coming full circle and balancing out the fruits with a slightly bitter note that’s full of baking spice. Overall: This is a flavor pop-tart. A fruity center, surrounded by near-bitter woodiness. Solidly enjoyable and proofed about right as any more would make it overwhelmingly oaky. Few drops of water help a lot here to scale wood notes back. It also scales back the flavor. This is almost a shame, as there’s a perfectly balanced ex-cognac rum that seemed to have been lost somewhere on the way. Value: Priced at $85 this is a solid deal for a far-off source and reasonably enjoyable cask combination.
Likely this: https://www.bittersa … ask-barrel-proof-rum
Score: B+
Mauritius 2007, Holmes Cay, 55%
Addendum nearly a year later: More or less same as above, ex-cognac cask and all. Cask #46; aged 13 years bottled in 2001. Not nearly as bitter due to less age. Utterly enjoyable in the rum style that I prefer, with extra fruit in the aftertaste from the cognac casks. Picked up in local Chicagoland store.
Score: A-
Camikara 12, Indian Rum, 50%
Indian Rum? What? Is that even a thing? I guess it was/is a thing with a quick google. But is it good or bad? Small batch from Patiala, Punjab, India. Batch number 3, though none of the other batches that I’m aware have made it to US. Pure cane juice rum, no color, additives, non-chill filtration. This smells somewhere between a banana pie and a glass of eggnog. The palate is more of those nosing notes, slight rum funk, caramelized bananas, slightly woody vanilla, eggnog spices and sweetness in solid balance. Aftertaste is medium long and brings forward milk chocolate, more spice and, unsurprisingly, vanilla notes sans sugar which wraps up the experience nicely. Overall: I love this. It makes me think of a spiced banana syrup or perhaps dried banana snack. Something in the balance of oak, spices, vanilla and sweetness really clicks in this rum for me. Utterly enjoyable and very dessert like. Value: Priced between $85 and $95 this is very very solid price for what you get.
https://www.klwines.com/p/i?i=1688655
Score: A
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Scoring Breakdown: https://www.aerin.or … age=scores_breakdown