Just like the previous rum, I sort of discounted it because it’s a column still rum from TDL. At NYC RumFest, I went to the angostura table and tried everything they had, from the 5 year to the 1824, and as it got higher in price point, of course it got better, but even the 1824 was not that inspiring. But, CSC never misses, so I ordered a sample.

Note: It was distilled in 2014, and aged 6 years tropical, 6 years in Europe, and less than 1 year in Kentucky. It was bottled in May 2026.

Review

Smell

Very strong nose of oak, vanilla, play doh, and orange peel. Quite woody with a sweet prune smell. It also has a bit of that floral scent that I get from good, heavy cuban rums. I had some Angostura 1919, and the smell is much more plain. A bit of sweet vanilla and alcohol, and not much else.

Taste

The taste is so rich and complex. It’s a great blend of sour, sweet, and bitter, with a tannic finish and a strong note of fennel, as is common for heavy TDL rums. Aside from the fennel taste, the orange peel note and long floral finish remind me of very good Cuban rums. In comparison, 1919 is not bad, per se, and the vanilla and orange come together to almost make a creamsicle flavor, that turns into oak and fennel on the finish, which is very distinctly TDL. However, the Great Shearwater is just so much bolder, richer, and completely blows 1919 away. I instead reached for Ron Eminente, which is my favorite Cuban sipper so far, and it is genuinely a solid, delicious rum. But, Great Shearwater is everything it is and more, so despite enjoying it on any other day, coming back from the Shearwater, it tastes like slightly sour water.

Verdict 9/10

Great Shearwater is so good, that I actually reached for TCRL Australia 2007, which was my favorite non-Jamaican rum so far, earning an impressive 8.5/10 when I last reviewed it. I do think it’s an excellent rum, but it’s just a very different kind of rum, making it a bit hard to compare. However, I do think that I just slightly prefer the Great Shearwater. That earns it a stunning 9/10, placing it tied with Hampden Great House 2024, and leaving very little room on my rating scale for anything better…

Of course, Trinidad had Caroni, which I really love, especially the RG Perennia 27 year, but I just figured that TDL simply chooses to not make good rum. This whole tasting surprised me so much, so I talked to some other rum enthusiasts. Basically, the consensus is that TDL sells all of their good rum to IBs, and leaves all the boring, mass-appeal mixers for their Angostura line. It’s a shame, and it really put me off from TDL rums in general, but now I know that TDL IBs can really be gems.

This rum is not currently for sale, as I got a pre-release sample back in May, but you can pre-order it on their website here: https://www.greatshearwaterrum.com/shop-usa/index.html