This blend of 16 casks from the Clarendon distillery was selected by Italy's Velier and Holland's Scheer.
4 of the barrels are from the 2002 vintage, 2 are from the 2004 vintage, and the remaining 10 are from the 2006 vintage.
Distilled in pot stills and aged for 14 years entirely in Jamaica, this rum has an ester content of 324.5 gr/hlap. It is part of the distillery's "Plummer" (or EMB) category.
You can compare it with a similar rum (same distillery, same age and same EMB category) but aged entirely in Europe by taking a sample of each!
Nico's tasting notes
The nose opens with a light rum heart. Aging, however, gives it a fine concentration and a mature profile. Behind a light veil of solvent, slightly oxidized stone fruits emerge, in a rather pastry-like register. Ripe exotic fruits begin to emerge, taking on a delightful, gourmet fullness.
Aeration opens the way to more ripe fruit, but above all allows the toasted oak to express itself a little more. We find notes of nuts, roasting and molasses, concentrated in a rum bubble.
On the palate, the rum is lively and invasive, immediately developing strong woody notes. One imagines a rum that has drawn from the heart of the oak, taking with it all the resin and tannins it contained. As this rum is relatively light, this woodiness comes through all the more easily. We find it quite green, with almost medicinal notes.
The finish retains notes of stone, almond cream and black fruits in brandy.
" After a concentrated, fruity nose, the palate is very woody and marked by tannins... "
In comparison, continental aging produces a very different rum. It's lighter, drier, fresher and more ethereal. It takes longer to open up and stays on a fairly fine line. The fruity and pastry notes are also present, but much less full-bodied. On the other hand, the palate is much less marked by the extraction of tannins. As a result, it's more gourmand and easier to read.
