As tittle kind of states, I’ve been getting into rum the past year.

I am definitely into high ester, funky, fermented fruits, glue, acetone, diesel, olive snd smokey.

I was at a port wine tasting with some friends where I brought whisky and rum for us afterwards, I decided to go for Hampden 8 years as they mentioned both of them they weren’t into rum. I figured they could love it, which they obviously did.

Now I’ve been asked for new years to be in charge of rum, I could get a hampdens 8 years, but I’m wondering from people who are more experienced what would you recommend?

The budget can go up to €100, a bit more as well wouldn’t be a problem.

Thank you in advance!

A combination of auctions, retail and a touch of madness. We've got:

- The new Hampden Fresh, bought especially for some daiquiris.

- Hampden 1753, bought for a friend's birthday this weekend (and the excuse for why I bought the Fresh, R<>H & WLP 2009 as well - all from LMDW).

- Hampden's newest mark, R<>H (an ester count of 800-900g/hlaa placing it between HLCF and <>H) aged for 2 years in ex-cognac.

- WLP 2009, a 17 year aged Worthy Park especially chosen for the Whisky Live Paris 2026 show.

- Habitation Velier LROK 2010, a 9 year aged LROK chosen for the Salon du Rhum 2019 show.

- Velier Caroni 1994 Guyana Stock, aged for 23 years, 14 years in Trinidad and the remaining 9 years in Guyana.

- Rum Artesanal HGML 1983, aged continentally for just over 35 years

- The Rum Cask DOK 2009, aged for 12 years continentally.

My most recent shipment from Hi Times Wine Cellars plus a local pickup:

- Holmes Cay Single Cask Guyana Versailles 2018

- Single Cask Nation Darsa Cask 11 year Guatemala

- Probitas Green Label

- Holmes Cay Single Origin Fiji

- Worthy Park Single Estate Reserve

So far I've tasted both Holmes Cay, but I am pretty disappointed in the Versailles 2018, but maybe my expectations are off. I find this rum to be a hot butterscotch bomb with little else to offer. Maybe some dates on the palate when you add a bit of water? I do get that crème brûlée when I put it in a daiquiri, but I didn't really buy it for daiquiris.

My question is, in general should I expect single cask rums to be less complex than an equivalently aged blended rum?

It's certainly not bad, but I'm not sure it was worth the price. I'm interested to hear what others think about the Versailles since I didn't find a review of it in this sub prior to me purchasing it.

This is my first review in several months, and really my first review since I've started to sip rums neat. I've only been collecting rum for about 6 months and I've only really been sipping rum for about half of that time, so take this review with a grain of salt.

Single Cask pick for the Rum Curious Club's Rum Curious Summit in 2025. The first Fiji rum to enter my collection as well as my first bottling from Holmes Cay.

Distillery: South Pacific Distilleries

Origin: Lautoka, Fiji

Still: Pot Still

Distillation base: Molasses

Distilled: 2015

Age: 9 years total. 1 year in Fiji, 6 years in the UK, 2 in the US in ex-bourbon barrels.

ABV: 58%

Price: $70 USD

Nose: A toasty sweetness, graham cracker, grilled pineapple, a gentle note of brine that rolls into the other smells and creates this aroma that altogether smells like if you were grilling fruit on a charcoal grill and spilled some of the juice into the charcoal, if that makes any sense. I feel that this is that Fiji diesel that people describe but as I've come back to this a few times I feel as though the individual notes are separating.

Palate: Tasted neat. The aroma translates fairly well into its flavor on the front of the palate. That diesel and fruity smoke flavor hits immediately, along with that same toasty sweetness and mild brine that the aroma hinted to. A bit of rubber, toffee, vanilla, and caramel comes in. Then the heat comes in and gives off some ginger spice and cedar. To me, not too sweet, not too harsh, a healthy dose of both.

Finish: The flavor from the finish lingers for quite a long time. You could take 3 hours to finish a small pour and the flavor would keep with you the whole time. It gives a pleasant warming sensation along the sides of your tongue that gives the flavor that comes with it a sensational element that I think is very pleasant. The finish flavor is almost exactly like if you roasted a marshmallow over the fire to a perfect golden brown, then peeled that toasted layer off and ate that on top of a small piece of graham cracker. The flavor was so exact, and I've never been able to describe a flavor of a rum so precisely after just the first sip.

Rating: 8.5/10

I've very much enjoyed this rum from the first sip. The general flavor profile might leave some people feeling as though it's a bit sweet, but to me it has this dry element that has me feeling like I could sip the stuff all night and never get tired of it. It's a welcome departure from the typical stuff I like to sip on and it feels right at home as an after-dinner pour. The warming sensation combined with that toasted marshmallow finish is quite nice in the evening. All in all I'm very glad I gave this one a shot as it's made its way into my top 10, and possibly my top 5, if only missing because it's not a part of my favorite rum category and preferred flavor profile.

I made Gardenia mix and I was excited to make my first Pearl Diver. And it was… ok. Thought of other ways to use the mix and this sounded easy enough and appropriate with our first rainy days of the year this week.

2oz Havana Club 7
2oz Gardenia Mix
1/4oz Maggie’s Farm Falernum
Fill with hot water up to desired level

Enjoyed this bottle so much I had to fly back and get two more. Very fruity, warm, and sweet notes.