The Whisky Jury recently presented a first rum release, Jamaican sugarcane pot still rum to be precise. Although the distillery is officially undisclosed, it shouldn’t take long to get the phonetic hint on the label.
Apparently there were some questions because we’ve hardly ever seen 1997 casks from this distillery, but everything is double-checked.
‘Mden’ 23 yo 1997 (55,6%, The Whisky Jury 2020, barrel)
Nose: fresh paint, a lot of cellulose varnish and petrol. Hints of plasticine and tapenade. Ink, leather and paraffin. On a second level there is pineapple juice, tobacco and a slight balsamic note. A whiff of camphor as well.
Mouth: very big, now much more herbal. Thyme, sage and cumin, among many others. Huge (green) olive brine and capers, liquorice and coal tar. Salty notes, mixed with green bananas and diesel. Vague hints of nectarine. Some cardboard and a light sharpness of lemon peel. Quite extreme, but also quite complex and pure.
Finish: very long and intense, with green olives, salt and lemon. Still some undertones of petrol.
Assertive rum with plenty of funky, industrial notes. A lovely malternative, recommended. It flew off the shelves but maybe some retailers still have a few bottles.