Whenever I try things at the NY rum club bottlesharing events, I always write all of my feelings down for each rum. That said, I usually only actually write reviews for the first few rums that I try. For one, I usually go for the ones that I am most excited about first. Also, I tend to be the most sober at the start, and by the end of the tasting, my notes start to be less and less… useful. For instance, towards the end of the April tasting, my notes for Perennia Caroni 27 Year from Raising Glasses were “Very fruity, contact cement, Gigabyte. It’s a roller coaster and I am not tall enough to ride.”

But finally, I will occasionally taste a palate killer. After this sort of rum, I am basically no longer able to feel the subtler nuances of a rum, as it completely dominates my palate for a while. This is one such rum.

Note: It is aged 13 years in ex-bourbon, then finished for 4 years in 2nd fill French oak barrique. The say “we transferred this rum”, so that implies the last 4 years were definitely in the UK. Unknown if any of the prior 13 years were in Guyana or also in the UK.

Review

Smell

Overwhelming nose. The name said glue, and I definitely get that. Perhaps even contact cement. But then it opens up into fruity notes, something earthy like prunes or dried fruit, and finally the oak and vanilla. The smell is kind of sweet, perhaps molasses or brown sugar.

Taste

Of course I took a sip the way that it is, and it’s overwhelming. Definitely begs for ice or water. Contact cement, intensely earthy, sour, and bitter. Completely overwhelming to my palate. It burns like a shot of 151 all the way down my throat. After adding a few drops of water, to what’s left at the bottom of my cup, it opens up to something very dry and not nearly as fruity as the nose suggests, but back to familiar territory, the classic El Dorado flavors: prunes, raisins, those types of dried fruits. Someone brought some El Dorado PM/DHE, and I tried it right after, and it’s not exactly the same, there’s some difference, but it’s not a large one, and I don’t quite know how to articulate the difference. Both are in the same ballpark.

Verdict 7/10

This rum is definitely complex and challenging. I hope to some day better appreciate it, and to someone who is really into high octane Demerara rums, this might be your 9/10. To me, it was a fun experience, and I am glad to have tried it, but if I had this in my liquor cabinet, it would sit for a while, hopefully waiting for a time that I can better appreciate it. It’s good, perhaps even great, but kind of like a full strength Hampden rum, I just am overwhelmed and it’s not something I would relax with, and the industrial and cement flavors just are kind of harsh and off-putting for me right now.