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

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.

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

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.

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!

Long post warning.

TLDR: Lots of Worthy Park rum drank. 3 cane juice WP tasted - all different, all nice; worth keeping an eye out for these bottles. WP 20YO > Velier WP 21YO (to me). E&AS has some nice WP in their warehouse. All WP rums tried leaned fruity rather than funky.

September and October have been full of tastings and events. Somehow, I've hit rum #500 (and #525) over the past weekend at RumFest.

For today I'll focus on rum #500 - Worthy Park 20YO and give some higher level notes on other new (to me) WP rums.

Cane:

WP - Jagricole (not pictured - no label bottle)

Comments: Bottled at 50% ABV. Cane juice, pot distilled. They're still experimenting with fermentation times. Grassy and fruity with a touch of menthol. This is some good stuff. It reads cane juice, but is different enough from other agricoles to make it unique.

Tasting: Bright, sweet, grassy, and fresh. Notes of light banana esters (that slight acetone you get from very ripe banana), lemongrass, green apple, white florals, menthol, green mango, linden honey.

WP - Cane Juice 2026 Skurnik

Comments: Bottled at 54% ABV. Cane juice, pot distilled. This is different to the Jagricole, less grassy and drier initially. The finish is where the cane juice notes were more prominent. Thumbs up, good stuff. It seemed to get sweeter with each sip.

Tasting: Sweet and fruity with a hint of fresh green cane. Notes of freshly pressed cane juice, a bit of lemongrass, honey melon, anise, white florals, faint banana note.

Unknown bottler - WP aged cane juice 2021

Comments: 68% ABV, distilled in 2021, bottled on 19/08/2026. This rum has lost some of its cane juice identity. Tastes more like a fruity medium to low ester aged Jamaican rum. Given blind I would not have guessed cane juice.

Tasting: On the drier side. Notes of banana chips, bit of floral honey, hay, dry grains, jammy fruits, bit of menthol and medicinal notes (herbal). Ends lightly sweet.

Molasses:

WP - Silver (not pictured)

Comments: I haven't had this WP bottling, previously being familiar with Rum Bar Silver. From all accounts it is the same juice inside, and from memory of tasting RBS that tracks. I'll need to A B the two some time to confirm. As a rum it is fruity, crisp, and no doubt would be great in a cocktail. This actually reminded me of how good this basic bottle is.

Tasting: Sweet. Lots of yellow banana, bit of mango, sweet tropical fruits, banana chips, hint of green banana skin.

WP - 20 Year Old

Comments: 55% ABV, a blend of pot still molasses rums distilled in 2005 and 2006. Release coincided with the 20th anniversary of RumFest. I really liked it, might be placebo, but for a 20 year tropically aged rum it remained a fruity banana bomb with the funk acting as an accent and the aged notes being support characters rather than dominating.

Nose: Lots of ripe to black bananas, gentle esters, hint of acetone, mushed bananas, warm spices (mace and nutmeg), banana bread. Honeyed notes open up over time along with a hint of industrial funk and some coffee.

Palate: Medium dry entry followed by a lightly sweet wave of fruits (stewed and very ripe). This then turns towards honeyed notes. It gets sweeter with each sip. More stewed fruits sprinkled with grated nutmeg and hints of other warming spices. Hints of smoke peak through time to time.

Finish: Medium to long. The honeyed notes grow darker, toasted buckwheat, a touch of industrial funk shows up along with a light smoke note, then you get the sweet spice of candied ginger before it turns back to dark honeyed notes for a lightly sweet finish.

Velier - Wedderburn 2005 (21YO)

Comments: 53% ABV, distilled in 2005 and aged until 2026 - all tropical. This was drier and woodier than the WP 20YO. The finish has lots of toasted grains. Overall leant darker and more spiced.

Tasting: Dry. Toasted grains and black banana, light notes of acetone and wood varnish, clove, oily spices, more mushed banana, dark honey, cacao, pineapple tarts.

E&A Scheer - M061 - 2007 WPL

Comments: WPL mark, 60% ABV, distilled in 2007, aged for 19 years (13 tropical, 6 continental). This was the crowd favourite from the masterclass. Very rummy, both complex and approachable. The nose on this was wonderful.

Tasting: Medium dry. Notes of stewed fruits, floral honey, ripe to over-ripe banana, hint acetone, dry mint, dry herbs, warm spices.

Now, time to take a few weeks off to rest the palate and the liver....

If anyone is curious about other bits and bottles from RumFest let me know.

Here we have the now elusive TECA 2003 from Long Pond distillery released by National Rums of Jamaica in collaboration with Velier. This is an absolute ester monster holding a count of between 1,200-1,300g/hlpa and has received 15 years of tropical maturation with a greater than 67% angel's share.

Country of origin: Jamaica

ABV: 63%

Age: 15 years tropically

Tasting Notes

Nose: Vinegar, rubber, tar, cheese and onion crisps, plum, lime, varnish, pineapple, smokey bacon, medicinal

Mouth: Brown sugar, pineapple, black pepper, bubblegum, passion fruit, lime, rubber, anise, nectarine, strawberry, raspberry

Finish: Very pungent initial burst of flavour that ends quite soon but with a lingering light burn for a medium finish

It really doesn't get funkier than this. This is one of the most perplexing rums I've ever had. It has this incredibly pungent almost meatiness to it. It's so strong that it takes a while to actually figure out what is going on. It is absolutely not for the faint-hearted.

But is it enjoyable? Well yes, definitely, but it's not exactly something you can sit down after a long day to sip and relax with, because it's so intrusive. I'm not even sure my tasting notes can do it justice since it is so outlandish and unlike any other Jamaican rum I've had. It's an absolute warrior in the high ester realm.

Rating: 8.8/10

The title says it all, really. I’m looking for good sources of rum in the Portland, OR and Vancouver, WA area.

Hi everyone! I’m looking for any recommendations of rums that are good pairings with cigars. I’m a big bourbon drinker while smoking, but I’m looking to shake things up a bit. I do like rum, just like and know bourbon better. I usually smoke medium to strong cigars. So I’m open to any recommendations

These just arrived today and I am freaking stoked! All of these will be first tries for me. Hoping these will make for some good pours.

I’ve always been a “finish one bottle before opening the next“ and try to limit myself to having 10 bottles open at a time. But I’m not sure if that’s necessary and I’ve been thinking about abandoning that rule. How do you guys handle your collections? Do you mind leaving a bottle open for a while? Some of mine have been opened for easily 5+ years and are still half full. I don’t drink near as much as I used to but I still love collecting and having some every once in a while.

Cheers everyone!

Member's Mark (Sam's Club) Spiced Rum. Because cheap. Used whole bottle (1.75L)

Should I add something else (half bottle of Appleton Estates 12 year) to top it off?

Open to suggestions as to how long to infuse. May add panela sugar if still too harsh.

Hello Again,

Welcome back to another Alambique Serrano review. Today we're taking a look at the prettiest label this release, Vida Nativa Blend #2: Mariposa Vitral. This bottle contains a mix of the following:

- Krassel Still Rum aged for 27 months in New French Oak and 18 months in New Hungarain Oak.

- Krassel Still Rum aged for 27 months in New French Oak and 13 months in New Hungarain Oak.

- Pot Still Rim aged for 28 months in New French Oak and 13 months in New Hungarain Oak.

- Pot Still Rum aged for 42 months in Ex-Congac

The result was 600 bottles at 58.3% with 600 bottles going to the USA, with the hint this might be landing elsewhere.

Nose: The nose is very light but also very buttery with honey, acetone, wheat, red fruit, some baking spice, and sour smoke rounding things out.

Taste: Honey, ginger, a sweet smoke, a bit of a butter dairy note that transitions into a bit more of spiced savory smoke with an incense ladened oak that hammers home the 126 total months in oak.

Finish: An incense oak smoke makes up most of the finish while the heat quickly builds and dies as a cane sugar syrup takes over with a bit of astringency before a charred oak with a minor influence of cognac appears.

Overall: 6/10, can be a tad astringent at times which is a shame as I was really enjoy this flavor profile for a while before picking that note up.

Following up on my last review, where I mostly focused on continentally aged DDL rums, we now turn to some tropically aged legends.

Velier Enmore ELCR 1995 (RumX) Guyana | Enmore (likely the wooden Coffey still) | 16 years | 61.2%

Nose: Pencil shavings, leather, Vietnamese coffee

Palate: Very wooden and concentrated. Overextracted espresso, dried fruit leather. Having a tough time nailing down which fruit it reminds me of, some sort of berry I think. Man, this rum takes you for a walk. Big mouthfeel.

Finish: Much like the palate. You can walk around the block a few times as the wood, leather and ginger do some fine work together. So drying it's crazy, but not quite wood sludge, to me at least.

You've gotta be in the mood for this one. It's not quite my preferred style since the spirit isn't as prominent as I'd like, but overall still fantastic.

8/10

Velier Diamond <S> 1999 (RumX) Guyana | Diamond (column still) | 15 years | 53.1%

Nose: A bit closed to me. Orange pith, burnt coffee. Doesn't change with water.

Palate: Orange peel, cinnamon, nutmeg. Christmas in a dram. Again a heavy, coating pour, with coconut syrup. Surprising that the nose is so closed given how perfumed it tastes. Potpourri-like.

There's something weird in here I can't quite place. Maybe something metallic, like iron? It comes in with the drying sensation. Very cool and tasty.

Finish: Rich, luxurious, burning and puckering. Nothing more develops from the palate though.

Somewhat similar to the Enmore in concentration and notes, minus the liquorice (some people seem to find it here). That metallic note is pretty cool and I'm not sure I've had it before. The concentration on fun notes give it the edge over the enmore for me.

9/10

Velier Diamond & Port Mourant <W>PM 1999 (RumX) Guyana | Diamond (Coffey still) + Port Mourant (wooden double pot still), blended in the barrel | 15 years | 52.3%

Nose: Bananas, crème brûlée, leather. A bit mulchy.

Palate: Banana chips, dried mango. Not quite as deep and robust as the other two, but I prefer these fruitier flavors, ostensibly from the pot still. Nice bit of chewy dark chocolate too.

Finish: Much quieter and shorter than the other two so far. Otherwise a very typical tropically aged DDL finish.

7.5/10

Velier Port Mourant PM 1993 (RumX) Guyana | Port Mourant (wooden double pot still) | 13 years | 65%

Nose: Oreo cookies? Confectioner's sugar, a little fruitiness, berries and tropical fruits.

Palate: Very nicely balanced. Oily but not heavy, which is interesting. Pretty herbal, though subtle to me. The sweetness from the nose is still there but takes a back seat. Darker fruits than the nose suggested, more like dried plums.

Finish: Sits between the first two and the Diamond/PM 1999 in length, so average. A bit of five spice and liquorice comes through, which is nice.

Lighter and less concentrated than everything above. This drinks way beneath its proof I love a herbal note in my spirits though.

8/10

Velier Port Mourant PM 1975 (RumX) Guyana | Port Mourant (wooden double pot still) | 33 years | 56.7%

Nose: Wood wood wood woody woody wood. Pine resin. Pretty perfumed as well, rosewood clippings would be the note I guess. Very fun to sniff.

Palate: Turns out I knew nothing about woody spirits before this. Hello, inside of your grandfather's cabinet while drinking coffee concentrate. That start is actually quite pleasant. It then becomes unwieldy as the wood takes over. This is real wet mulch.

Finish: Surprisingly short all things considered. Very leathery and rich.

Very cool and more unique than the above rums at least to me because I've not had any other of these hyper aged demerara rums, but not necessarily as good as its younger brethern

7/10

BONUS

El Dorado Rare Collection Versailles VSG 2002 (RumX) Guyana | Versailles (single wooden pot still) | 13 years | 63%

Revisited this one and I was too harsh on it last time. Bumping it up to 7/10. I found it to be very fruity and nutty this time around and not nearly as unbalanced. Always good getting your sea legs back under you and revisit a dram. Thanks to /u/DH90 for the convo on the last post.

As I mentioned in my last review, I'm getting back into this and always appreciate feedback.

Here we have a 14 year old pot still rum distilled in Jamaica, bottled by Rolling Fork out of Indiana. I believe this is the WPL marque from Worthy Park Distillery. It has been aged 3 years in Jamaica, 11 years in Liverpool, and 6 months in Indiana, all in ex-bourbon casks. Let’s dive in.

ABV: 56.9%

In the glass: Amber

Nose: stewed banana, melon, malt

Palate: apple, banana, black tea, BBQ, melon, sweaty socks, caramel

Finish: green apple, tannins, vanilla, cinnamon, a bit acidic, some solvents

Value: okay at $100

Rating: 7 on the t8ke

This is a fun Worthy Park. It’s probably the hottest and most intense WPL I’ve had, especially for the proof. However, this is full of good flavor and it ramps up some of the classic WPL notes well. The base distillate really shines through; you can tell most of the aging has been continental. I also get some green apple which is a nice change of pace as I haven’t really tasted that note in Worthy Park before. All in all, this is a slightly challenging rum that remains interesting session after session drinking it.

Earlier this year I made a post about the first two STADE‘s releases (link) a few weeks back Ferrand showcased their recent bottling: the „Rockley“ First Drops. A few months back I was pretty impressed with them for not forcing a obnoxious Cognac-finish and bottling without altering the rum with sugar, this time, they butchered the sugar part but I was still curious enough to get it…

The name is a bit of a rabbit hole of its own, in the last 15’ish years „Rockley“ was used for a unique style of rum produced at WIRD using their Vulcan Chamber still (sometimes together with the Greggs farm pot still), now the name was being adopted for their historical and recently restored 18th century pot still. It has nothing to do with what people used to talk about when referring „Rockley“ in the past…

For this bottling, Ferrand used a fairly long fermentation and it shows.

In the nose, you can get honey, slight ester notes, a bit nail polish remover, light refreshing citrus notes, maybe some apple?
The taste adds some slight acidity and bite to it. Some bitter, herbal notes.
At the finish you’re getting a hint of medical notes that linger a bit.

But it seems like they were in a rush to get this one out. The foundation is promising and it’s a good rum but it could have easily needed more time in the cask which would not only add some more complexity but would have made the sugar even more redundant.
I know people don’t like Ferrand (and I’m no fan either) but what they are doing at WIRD is possibly the most interesting and promising development in today’s rum world. I’m curious to see their next release, hopefully a bit more mature and without sugar again!

On a sidenote: I love their label design

Has anyone tried an aged Clairin?

I've been enjoying the Clairin Sajous recently and just saw this...

Really wonder what this would be like - the allure of the Clairin for me is it's freshness and immediacy so I don't know if aging would improve it..?

ADDITION: I like aged agricole generally - but IMO the real charm of Clairin has been that it's kinda rough around the edges - a bit of a rustic twang that I imagine would be lost/mellowed by aging.