Bristol Reserve Rum of Belize 2005 46

This Bristol Reserve Rum of Belize was column distilled by Travellers in 2005, and bottled in England after 11 years of ageing.

Nico's tasting note

The nose is dense and overflowing, like an armful of nuts roasting in a copper pot. They begin to cook and soften, forming a thick, grainy, very greedy paste. In this nougatine or praline in the making, there is also coconut and vanilla.

Aeration reveals a lighter, more ethereal side, more roasted and nutty. The edges of the pot have toasted nicely, but the core continues to bubble and purr nicely, popping a few bubbles of concentrated, vanilla coconut milk.

The palate is sticky and charming, without being sweet. The rum is dense and spreads to all corners of the palate, intensely but without ever being aggressive. The balance is there, even if the aromas of toasted wood, spices and tobacco are rather frank. The latter are contained in a vanilla bean from which a honey flows that rolls gently over the taste buds.

The finish is greedy and vanilla, with mellow American oak (coconut, tobacco).

"Belize certainly offers the most rounded rums in the English tradition..."