It’s been a while since we’ve done larger sessions of rum. Everyone is on vacation anyway. However, with the recent heatwave in Europe, I have been digging into my rum stash and I stumbled upon a series of Jamaican rums that seemed like a nice subject for a tasting.
Jamaican Rum (WP) 18 yo 2007 (56%, Liquid Treasures ‘Love & Peace” 2025, barrel, 120 btl.)
Nose: very minty, along with sea spray, black olives and hints of petrol. Hints of banana and lemon, hinting towards pineapple after a while. Then brine and caraway, pine needles and a little ginger. Faint hints of glue. Some oaky vanilla adds some roundness, making this a rather accessible Worthy Park.
Mouth: still a bright fruitiness at its core, think pineapple, lemon, kiwi and a little orange. Dried banana. This is spiced up with pepper and camphor, including moderate esters and a hint of tar and mustard. A little thyme? The wood is a little louder (pine needles), but then again the brightness is impressive.
Finish: long, now more on citrus peels (grapefruit) with peppermint and a touch of salt.
Nice one! Bright fruits take center stage, with balanced esters. A great rum for whisky drinkers that don’t necessarily like the heavier stuff (but also rewarding for true rum lovers). Available from eSpirits.
Next up: a blend of Clarendon 2000 (70%) and Long Pond 2004 (30%), one of the recent releases from Decadent Drinks.
Jamaican Rum 18 yo 2000 + 2004 (49,3%, Decadent Drinks 2025, recycled rum barrel finish, 115 btl.)
Nose: similar brightness. A slightly green fruitiness (apple, pineapple, lime) with salty seawater and soft menthol. Then a hint of (ripe) banana peelings and bay leaves. Subtle kerosene and olives, of course.
Mouth: quite straight, with petrol and olives in brine, mixed with these generous banana notes and other funky fruits. Menthol and liquorice, adding a medicinal edge. Then also citrus freshness and something of a peaty edge.
Finish: long clean, with more olives coming out, some menthol, along with lingering bananas.
Another very crisp Jamaican, perhaps a little more medicinal and edgy than the WP despite the lower strength. Available from Decadent Drinks or Royal Mile Whiskies for instance. Score: 89/100
Jamaican Rum 13 yo 2009 – JDOK (61%, The Whisky Blues 2022, barrel #7, 252 btl.)
Nose: rather creamy, with a lot of synthetic banana aromas, as well as truckloads of glue and nail polish. New rubber boots, hints of almond paste and marshmallow, along with some candied ginger and cardamom. Obviously green olives in brine too.
Mouth: a mix of pineapple and salty-sweet lime, with a little more fermented banana. Glue and olives, as well as plenty of varnishes, rubbery notes, liquorice and salt. New plastics as well. Getting dry and mineral at some point.
Finish: medium to long, with more of the same. Salty citrus and pineapple, along with wood spice.
I’m not sure wheter DOK and JDOK are actually different. In any case this is packed with esters, up to the point where it becomes a little narrow. Surprisingly drinkable though, considering the ester level. Sold out. Score: 90/100
Clarendon 29 yo 1995 – EMB style (61,5%, The Colours of Rum 2025, American oak cask #433944, 148 btl.)
Nose: the usual glue and furniture polish, quickly followed by a surprisingly bright layer of pink grapefruit, pineapple and passion fruit. Then tobacco, walnuts and earthy notes. A little pine resin, min leaves and apple vinegar in the distance.
Mouth: the tropical fruitiness is still there. Mango sherbet and more pineapple. However it gets overtaken by lots of extractive hints, such as herbal bitters, plenty of pine resin and menthol. Burnt caramel and really heavy woody notes too (like licking a cigar box). Quite hard to enjoy at full strength but a few drops of water make it very attractive.
Finish: long, mentholy, with citrus, salt and plenty of resinous notes.
It’s becoming borderline over-oaked, but once you’ve tamed it, the tropical note makes up for most of that. Great consistency with sister cask #433947. Still available from the Colours of Rum shop. Score: 90/100
Hampden <>H 10 yo 2013 (66,8%, The Colours of Rum 2023, cask #434968, 213 btl.)
Nose: full-on esters now, including glues, varnishes, petrol and fermenting fruits. Overripe pineapple, hints of marzipan (or Pelikan glue) and tamarind. Light hints of yoghurt and vingar, with pencil shavings. Really funky, really good.
Mouth: more accessible than I expected from this wicked ABV. The cask added fruity sweetness of ripe pineapples, bananas and sweet citrus. A whiff of acetone. Then also a little vanilla before it returns to drying esters, mouthcoating rubber, a firm salty note and plenty of green olives. More glue, and menthol as well. The saltiness really goes off charts in the end.
Finish: very long and still a tad drying, with tarry notes, more of this salty liquorice, citrus, rubber and light medicinal touches.
Excellent Hampden, with a kind of intensity and balance that you only get in Jamaica. We had a great experience with <>H from 2013 before, and this confirms the quality of this parcel. Score: 91/100
HD 9 yo 2015 – DOK (68,9%, The Colours of Rum 2025, ex-bourbon cask #2, 297 btl.)
Nose: heavy DOK again, but more wood and vanilla shining through. Also, the high strength is really a blocking point here. Varnishes, glues, hints of citrus oils. With water also lime and green apple. A lot of mint and whiffs of herbal teas, along with rubbery notes and diesel underneath.
Mouth: quite some wood influence again, as well as some sweetness, both taking away some of the Jamaican funk. Hints of ripe banana, caramelized notes and vanilla. Also liquorice, black pepper, with subtle hints of tar and char.
Finish: medium to long, still focused on caramelized wood and oak spice.
A bit of an outlier in this series, or even within the common Hampden profile for that matter. DOK benefits from a calm cask. Score: 85/100