9 Rums: Diamond, Don José, TDL, Fiji, Enmore…

Time for some assorted rums, nine in total. The countries involved are mostly Guyana and Trinidad, but also Panama, Fiji and Jamaica.

 

Diamond / Port Mourant 22 yo 2001 (45,2%, Precious Liquors ‘100 Aspects of the Moon’ 2023 btl.)

Nose: loads of black olives and anchovies, with brine and light medicinal notes. Bandages and menthol. Then tarry notes and liquorice. Some overripe banana appears later, as well as some lemons, unripe pineapples, herbal tea and industrial varnish. Excellent.

Mouth: fairly industrial again, in a nice and funky way. Engine oils, a kind of dirty grassy note, more salted liquorice and black olives. Plenty of herbal notes, with hints of wet cardboard that aren’t out of place. Sour plums, rhubarb and tobacco leaves. A bit thin at times, but very interesting.

Finish: long, on liquorice, cough drops, bitter herbs, grapefruit zest and a big gulp of seawater.

The nose is brilliant… like a diamond. Although it becomes slightly austere on the palate, it remains highly drinkable as well. A great start of this session.

 

 

Panama Don José 22 yo 2000 (46,3%, The Whiskyfind for Whisky Picnic Bar Taiwan 2022, bourbon barrel#13, 241 btl.)

Nose: pretty much the opposite of the Diamond. Light and fairly rounded, in a way that reminds me of grain whisky. Oranges, hints of vanilla cake, mango candy and honeyed biscuits. Then light herbs, sweet mint and candied ginger.

Mouth: very sweet, with lots of oranges, caramelized banana and vanilla pastry. More honey and sugarcane sweetness, becoming very syrupy. Almost raisiny hints as well. Gets more woody towards the end, with a grassy edge.

Finish: quite long, balancing fruity sweetness and woody sweetness, alongside ginger and herbal liqueur.

Not a bad rum, but not really my style. Too sweet, too syrupy, far too polished. Score: 83/100

 

 

T.D.L. 21 yo 2002 (46,5%, FRC 2023, armagnac + cognac matured / Ruby Port finish, 241 btl.)

Nose: a short grassy note comes out first, with very moderate estery notes. Quickly these are joined by beautiful, juicy fruits. Pink grapefruits, even passion fruits and pineapples. A little pomegrenate juice. Oh my! Add to this crushed mint leaves, rosehip tea and flower petals and you get something incredibly seductive. Bits of mango as well. Bordering cognac at times.

Mouth: a sweeter onset than expected. Very wicked. I’m getting an IPA kind of fruitiness, with a hoppy note that evolves towards terpenes from cannabis. The label is spot on! In the background the fruitiness becomes tropical, with more grapefruits, passion fruits and Bushmills-style mango. Then also a slightly perfumed potpourri note, more mint and subtle Christmas spices.

Finish: medium length, minty, with more of the bright fruitiness, as well as a return of the lightly estery and grassy notes that we started with.

What a trip! Honestely can we be sure this is pure rum? In any case it is pure pleasure. Whoever predicted this recipe of cask finishes would lead to this result, is a genius. Now I have the impression the profile is quite fragile: one sip is pure cannabis and tropical fruits, while the next is a more mundane, fragrant rum. TDL has been quickly rising in my esteem in the past few months. Score: 92/100

 

Next up: South Pacific distillery, located in Lautoka on the island of Fiji. It began production in 1980 and today it is a subsidiary of Fosters, the Australian brewer.

 

Fiji 21 yo 2001 – South Pacific (47,3%, The Colours of Rum, ex-rum barrel #17, 222 btl.)

Nose: jumping out of the glass right away. Plenty of new plastics and inner tubes, funky fermenting pineapple and banana, glue and clove. Also paint thinner, liquorice and lots of varnished notes. A hint of vanilla, a few sultanas and some honey add roundness.

Mouth: initially fresher, with lemons, pineapples and hints of green banana. Still a hint of glue, turpentine and mezcally rubber. Then some floral touches, as well as gin-like hints of cumin and anise. Some rosemary. The funky side is pretty Jamaican.

Finish: medium length, very herbal, with lime and nutty notes.

Quite something! I didn’t expect this level of funk, but I like it. Top esters, some fruits and herbs, yet highly drinkable. Good choice. Available from the Colours of Rum shop. Score: 89/100

 

 

Diamond 26 yo 1996 (50,2%, Distilia ‘The Golden Age of Piracy – Hornigold’ 2023, cask #5, 156)

Nose: a bit silent, with rounder notes than we expected. Probably a light marque anyway. Yellow plums, hints of quinces and melons. Then molasses, white grapes, orange blossom and hints of vanilla from the wood. Light banana and hints of white chocolate.

Mouth: a mix of the Port Mourant and the Panama now. Vanilla, even light coconut and sugarcane sweetness, alongside banana. More orange water. A little plasticine too. Then sweet anise, ginger and white pepper, gradually getting sharper towards liquorice and green pepper.

Finish: medium length, on minty notes, charred wood, ginger and slightly bitter herbs.

The 1996 vintage hasn’t shown up a lot, and it doesn’t exactly offer what I’m looking for when I read the name Diamond. Quite some sharpness on the palate and limited complexity for its age. Score: 85/100

 

We’ll take a break before we move onto the next rum. It was distilled in Trinidad and it’s only 4 years old. This is the second release in the Rhythm & Booze series, afer a 13 year old Blended Malt.

 

Trinidad Rum 4 yo ‘Feli y los Malos’ (50%, Rhythm & Booze Records #2, 50 cl, 400 btl.)

Nose: quite light and sweet, opening on tinned pineapple slices, buttercups and honeysuckle. Then vanilla custard and sugar cane, as well as some grassy notes. Subtle coffee in the distance. After a while the sweetness turns towards mango candy.

Mouth: simple and sweet. Grated coconut, hints of full-strength piña colada or fruit punch. Then raisins, white pepper and some roughness of the alcohol. Plenty of coconut. Rather lively but quite sweet – I prefer drier examples to take neat.

Finish: okay length, pretty clean with more coconut.

A little out of rhythm (ba-dum-tss) in this session: to me this is more of a cocktail rum. Reminds me of some Plantation bottlings, which means it’s not a bad product in any way, just not overly complex. Or simply not the right blog. Around £ 55, available from Dramfool or The Whisky Exchange. Score: 80/100

 

 

Enmore 32 yo 1990 MEV (53,6%, Rum Sponge 2023, various types of cask, 197 btl.)

Nose: a nice array of precious woods. Cigar boxes, polished Ifé, very aromatic resins. Then toasted nuts and old leather, as well as hints of plums and blackberries. Almost a sherry bomb. Camphor and a drawer full of dried herbs. In the background there are also banana bread and hints of tangerines. Very inviting.

Mouth: the herbs are stronger now. Menthol, clove and juniper, with liquorice and salty tar. Plenty of toasted wood, more cigar boxes and dark chocolate. Caramelized nuts and toffee, alongside coffee and lots of tobacco notes.

Finish: very long, with more tobacco, dried herbs and tarry notes. Roasted chestnut and menthol in the very end.

Overall a cracking with a very rich, woody profile. I’m not sure it really needed all these different cask types, but it definitely works to make it complex and interesting. Available from Decadent Drinks or TWE for instance. Score: 91/100

 

The next one is a Jamaican blend of four rums. Long Pond 2005, Monymusk 2007, New Yarmouth 2005 and Worthy Park 2008.

 

Jamaica Premium Blend 14 yo 2008 (58,9%, The Colours of Rum 2023, ex-rum cask #40, 233 btl.)

Nose: full of fermented pineapples, oranges, fresh melissa, hints of pinewood, wood glue and diesel oil. Medium-high ester count? Drops of olives in brine, delicate liquorice and green tea. Also lime and hints of coconut water. Banana foam candy grows stronger over time, which is a nice element. A bit of everything and it works.

Mouth: slightly more austere now, which means more diesel, varnish and brine, some medicinal notes and strong tea. Alcohol comes out as well. Mint, capers, salted liquorice and light resinous notes. Then the banana / lime candy comes back.

Finish: medium length, with a little sweetness alongside dry herbs, resinous notes, rubber and salt touches.

Blending is an art and this is done properly. Fairly drinkable too. The banana candy is quite spectacular, but other than that, one and one is simply two here, if you know what I mean (and of course we expected three). Available from Colours of Rum. Score: 87/100

 

 

T.D.L. 13 yo 2009 (62,8%, The Colours of Rum 2023, ex-bourbon barrel #107, 256 btl.)

Nose: some caramel notes and plenty of menthol, as well as unripe peach, mashed banana and hints of mothballs. Some oriental woods and herbs, as well as dusty books. Then hints of blackcurrant, black tea and mint oil. There are flashes of pineapple in the background, but they fail to break through.

Mouth: very wood-driven, with plenty of pepper, menthol, eucalyptus and allspice. There’s a roasted, almost smoky layer too. Then esters, unripe mango and grapefruit peel. Berries and pineapple again, but not nearly as tropically fruit as others. Hints of vanilla and burnt peach.

Finish: long, quite strong, with firm wood spice and traces of mentholated fruit.

It may be held back a little by the high ABV, but with a 2cl samples there’s very little room to play around with water, I’m afraid. I tried adding a few drops but it stayed rather spicy and firm. Very good rum, no doubt, but it’s not the fruit bomb I was hoping for. Score: 88/100