Diamond 13 Year Port Mourant (Hamilton Single Cask Cask Strength Collection) (Marque MPM) (Barrel No. 67)

Rating: 13/23 I haven't been that much of a fan of the Hamilton Diamond entries in this series so far. Who am I kidding? I didn't like them at all. Still, this is a few years older and maybe it's significantly better. N: This is rich and savory. I'm surprised. It's meaty with some funky wood that has... I don't know. What is this even? It's savory and meaty with some other odd notes that aren't bad, but they sure are challenging. Slightly rotting vegetal flavor mixed with hints of soy sauce, orange, vanilla, fireworks, hints of vanilla, and... I don't even know what else at this point. P: Oh, this is much fruitier and sweeter than I'd expected! I'm liking it a lot. It's funky and bitter, but in a rich and full way that really accentuates the tropical fruits. I'm getting pineapple, mango, green banana, papaya. Lots of hogo and hints of fireworks. It's decadent. The wood is kind of dry and bitter. It adds balance, but not much complexity. It reminds me a bit of a more bitter, dry, and funky version of Plantation Trinidad 2003. There's quite a bit of grassiness here too. This is quite complex and debatably balanced. It's tasty, with mostly good notes. A little waxiness. F: Bitter, but sweet, Sort of a blackberry flavor comes out now. There's some other vegetal and fruity and oily and coconut and wood flavors coming out. It's not super complex, but there's some nuance. It's a bit challenging, but it's interesting and nice. I'm enjoying this. - Conclusion - I actually like this one. The other two weren't good, but this is really nice! This is way less harsh, more mature, and sweeter. It's a revelatory difference. I wish that I'd bought 3 of these instead of one of each. This is competitive with Breukelen 77 American Single Malt 7 (12/23), though I'd take this. It's probably not a lot better though. Still, I'm liking this. Not loving this though. This beats Privateer Queen's Share (11/23), but not by a ton. I'm thinking a 13 or maybe a 14. A 15 just seems sadly out of reach. I think I'm going with a 13. Wow, I feel like this is good, but only when I compare it with worse drams, like the other two Hamilton Diamonds. I can easily find lots of stuff that beats this. For $100, this is obviously a pass. I think that Mission knew they had some duds and were really trying to move them with their bundle with Weller Full Proof deal. I didn't like the Ry3 barrel pick I got from Mission either. I think Mission might be getting some bad picks, unfortunately. Coming back to this for a final scoring, a 13 might even be on the high side. I'll go with a 13.