PFM was Peyton Freaking Manning (Go Broncos). KFM is Kenneth Francis Mackenzie, the owner of the Lusignan plantation. As often in history, Enmore probably tried to mimic the Lusignan distillery’s style. Samaroli Demerara Dark (Enmore “KFM”) 1991 14YO (45%): A bottling from back when Samaroli still used to be someone, well, Samaroli! Nose: An absolutely... Read More ..read more

Just a small pair today, one that we have been extremely interested in, however. Paranubes Anejo (54,8%): This is 18 months old. Wow! I hope you understand my sarcasm. After all, that’s still less than some “White” Rums. Please note that there have been several 18 months Anejos. I am aware of at least an expression with 53,8% but I think this one was the first release (I might be wrong though). Nose: Very briney, umami and thick. Olive oil, any given brine, avocado, Himalaya salt, hazelnuts and soy sauce are my main associations but at the end of the day they all describe the same thing: Thic ..read more

After struggling with an illness for the last couple of days we are back with a few interesting Hampdens waiting on my table. The Whisky Jury Hampden 2012 10YO (58,4%): This should be “OWH”. Nose: Clearly Jamaican but not necessarily Hampden, I think that describes it quite well. This nutty profile profile is much closer to many Long Ponds in that sense. The Rum smells slightly more alcoholic than I think it should but keep in mind that this one is only ten years old, mostly continental, I guess. Aromawise, I get a mix of herbs (thyme and rosary), strawberry, said nuts, caramel vla, grilled f ..read more

We still have plenty of Caronis in our sample library and today it is tome for one of the lesser vintages in my book, namely 1998. Wu Dram Clan Caroni 1998 23YO “Kyoto Fine Wine and Spirits” (62,2%): This has been released together with a 1997 Caroni. Nose: I almost forgot how “dirty” this particular vintage can be. I get the whole dose of tar, burnt rubber, engine oil and scrap metal, but also slightly peppery notes from the barrel. This is the Caroni essence and at least the nose doesn’t leave much to be desired. Palate: Slightly sharp and extremely rusty, with pepper, different oils, a hin ..read more

Are multiple Chairman’s chairmen? Anyway, we have more Rums from what might be at least one of the best contemporary distilleries. Chairman’s Reserve 2011 9YO “Master of Malt” (58,8%): This is a cane juice based Rum (rather than molasses) distilled by the mighty Vendome pot still. Nose: I am not sure if I would have been able to identify this as a juice based Rum blindly (read: definitely not!) but then again, how many juice based Rums distilled in a pot still did we have so far!? Anyway, I get slightly grassy notes, honey, rubber, some vanilla, quite some herbs, more rubber and olive oil. I ..read more

A brief Long Pond session with a few samples I wanted to try. Plantation Long Pond “VRW” 2009 12YO ‘Luxembourgish Cask Selection’ Spanish Orange Wine Cask (53%): The wine finishes can be nice, but don’t have to be. Nose: Very lovely with beautiful floral notes, sweet yellow stone fruits (think peach and apricot), vanilla, honey, some waxy notes and jasmin flavoured green tea. I hope the palate can keep these promises. Palate: These notes of green tea cement themselves, as do jasmin and related floral notes. Honey and vanilla are still present as well, but they are now joined by esters and tro ..read more

We still get a few releases from this magnificent batch of Rum from time to time and even have some older bottlings around. And I must say that they did indeed reach a beautiful level of maturity! Milano Rum Festival & Barmetro Bellevue (Damoiseau) 1998 21YO (57%): It is funny that I only managed to score a sample of this at a Whisky fair, isn’t it!? Nose: Dark and heavy, with wood, olive brine, different kinds of herbs, actual olives, a hint of tar, bamboo perhaps and slightly smoky and medical notes. We’ve found the latter in some but definitely not all of the Rums of this batch. Palate ..read more

Just a couple of Barbancourts today. Barbancourt *** 1970s (43%): This might still be a pot still expression and be about four years old. Nose: Very herbal with dill, sage, thyme and oregano paired with a dab of marzipan. While this is a typical Barbancourt that isn’t overly complicated to detect as such, I must say that it is much, much better than current expressions. The pot still surely did do wonders back then. My only complaint is that it is relatively faint at just 40%… Palate: Just as herbal (especially dill) but increasingly vegetal, a note that builds up like a crescendo. Asparagus ..read more

A very random session today, featuring a couple of Enmores from 2002, among others. S.B.S Diamond Distillery “SVL” (Uitvlugt Savalle) 2003 17YO (53,7%): This batch featured both, good and utterly terrible Rums so far. I really don’t know why the variance in cask quality is so big here. Nose: Rich and heavy with nougat, coffee, wood, burnt caramel, plenty of spices, chocolate, molasses, fir and resin. Deeper in the glass also the batch-characteristic forest honey and hints of moss perhaps. It’s alright, I guess. Palate: Milk chocolate, coffee, plenty of conifer and resin, subtle honey, wood, s ..read more

When the Hampden 8 Marks Collection came out in 2022, it created a lot of buzz. After all, it was the first time that a distillery offered a cross-tasting of all its marques in a single set for regular purchase. So what is it? Marks or marques? We’ve learned, also directly from Hampden, that these are marques and not marks and I have no idea why it is called this way now… Anyway for most Rum lovers, this set is like a dream come true. I don’t want to sound arrogant at all but for me, this wasn’t as exciting as you might think, as I am already very familiar with all of these marques. But then a ..read more