Loooooooots of Rum samples. Mostly single cask or limited releases. Little time. Will post whatever info I’ve got on the bottles that is relevant. Some just say ‘mystery’. Quick notes for everything !
Origin — Age — Score — Notes
- Appleton Estate (Jamaica) 1994, 60% — 26 years — A- — Funky, medicinal, minty, woody, touch too intense, though in a good way.
- Samaroli, “Spanish Sand” (Belize), 48% — 12 — A — Delicious, wonderful balance, cheers all around
- Samaroli, Venezuela Rum 2005, 48% — 14 — B — Wood, vanilla but is rather dry and flat for a rum. Like licking a seasoned 2×4.
- Dictador (Columbia), Episode 1 American Oak, 2001, 41% — N/A — C+ — This is NOT the Port Cask release. Dark molasses, almost savoury, nutty, and toasty. Needs more proof… or cut with something lighter and proofier. Great nose. Everything else is too thin.
- Holmes Cay (Trinidad), Ten Cane, 2012, 59.1% — 10 — C- — Grassy, minty, light for the proof, herbal. Feels like there’s some green cane in there.
- SBS Single Cask (Antigua) 2015, 64.9% — 7 — B- — Funk, wood, vanilla, leather, huge alcohol punch.
- Black Tot (Blend) 2021, 54.5% — N/A (Blend) — A — This is great. Some of the best notes from Jamaican mint profile mixed with Foursquare-like flavor bomb.
- Black Tot, “Last Consignment”, 54.3% — N/A — Unicorn… (For me: ~B) — https://blacktot.com … ot-last-consignment/ Earthy, savoury, wood, leather, tons of tobacco, borderline bitter, super concentrated. Amazing nose. Unicorn experience… not for everyone.
- Uitvlugt (Guyana) “Silent Ambassador” 1994, 51.9% — 22 — C+ — Grassy, peppery, warming, spicy, funky, sweet vanilla and dry leather without much wood in the mix. Not my preferred palate though. After a bit of time, it’s either growing on me or my taste buds are dying. Strong grassy = (agricole green cane juice) note on nose… Mostly hidden on palate, comes back in aftertaste… Age helps a lot to balance out the grass notes.
- Velier Hampden “LFCH” (Jamaica) Pot Still 2011, 60.5% — 7 — B — Funk Funk Funk. Nose like an old Tiki Stand, complete with grimy torches and wood all around. Flinchingly hot, a little young. Vanilla, sugar, spices, heat, dried mango in the aftertaste? Light funk that doesn’t overwhelm.
- Velier Last Ward (Barbados) Mount Gay, Pot Still 2009, 64% — 9 — B+ — Toasted vanilla sugar. Dry cherries!? Minwax wood polish. Syrupy-thick. Very interesting, but leans towards too much burnt (bitter) sugar.
- Velier Worthy Park (Jamaica) 2007, 59% — 10 — A- — Funk, sweet vanilla, wood, spices. Funk is there, but doesn’t linger. Kinda what I’d expect out of good Jamaican Rum. Almost a mix of Barbados and Jamaica profiles.
- Velier Worthy Park “Forsyths WP” (Jamaica) 2005, 57.8% — 10 — B+ — Starts a little funky… becomes solid drinking. Mint hard candies. Some anise perhaps. Sweetness and baking spice. Aftertaste lasts and lasts.
- Lost Cask/Rolling Fork (Barbados) Foursquare, 61.8% — 16 — A- — Super solid Foursquare ex-bourbon profile … if slightly hotter balance than usual. Blindly… I’d guess ex-bourbon exceptional cask release. Let’s call it 2009 equivalent, even if it’s not quite the same; it’s made from the same framework.
- Velier (Barbados) Foursquare 2013, 64% — 2 — B- (Top shelf mixer or add water) — 100% Pot Still… This is just two years old! Super flavorful, yet very raw around the edges. The typical notes fighting with grassy funk of newmake. Absolutely not holding back on eye-watering alcohol punch. Fantastic mixer… Not sure on it’s viability straight, although water does wonders for the drinkability.
- Colors of Rum Edition 7 (Barbados) Foursquare 2005, 61.1% — 15 — A — Beautiful stuff. On par with some of the best regular Foursquare bottlings. Looks like ex-bourbon maturation. Very very good.
- Colors of Rum Edition 9 (Barbados) Foursquare 2009, 64.4% — 11 — B- — Alcohol Hot. Leans towards caramelized bananas covered in some tropical baking spices. Little too hot for my liking. Water helps but it’s not quite there in age and balance.
- Colors of Rum Edition 10 (Barbados) Foursquare 2007, 62.1% — 13 — A- — I tastes like there’s some sherry in this one. The blurb says it’s ex-bourbon and then ex-scotch casks… So it may have been some sherried scotch in the wood. Very tasty. Very little to complain about here. Almost malty… Slightly on the hot side of the alcohol spectrum… Arguably, a touch too sweet in the balance.
- Foursquare Indelible, 48% — 11 — B+ — Pleasant and sweet, quite a bit like Doorly’s 12 with a touch of red wine fruit in there. It’s a ‘good’ Foursquare in a sea of ‘excellent’ Foursquares.
- Foursquare 2007, 59% — 12 — A- — It’s good ex-bourbon Foursquare. Fairly typical for the year series
- Foursquare Touchstone, 61% — 14 — A- — Tasty, if somewhat typical, addition to Foursquare exceptional cask series, slightly sweeter and fruitier due to cognac wood in the mix. Rather hot on the palate, a tiny bitter note in the aftertaste. Really benefits from sitting in a glass for a while.
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Scoring Breakdown: https://www.aerin.or … age=scores_breakdown