Kirk and Sweeney 23 Year Rum

Firstly, as far as I can gather, the 23 year old expression has been discontinued, the new, non-age stated rum is the Gran Reserva Superior. In the glass, the smell reminds me of making cookies, creaming butter and brown sugar in a mixing bowl. 18/20 The first sip is warm and inviting, brown sugar, butterscotch, toasted vanilla. Some fruit is present, but subtle. 26/30 The finish is long enough to be interesting, but still relatively short. Additional sips show increasing depth of flavor, there’s plenty to dig into here. 20/25 The bottle is beautiful, the cork is sealed with a gold tape bearing the location where the Kirk and Sweeney was taken by the coastguard, and the neck tag supposed to invoke a coastguard impound tag. Most of the cork is in the neck of the bottle, leaving just a tiny, surprisingly spongy, bit to grab, making opening the bottle tricky. 16/20 Subjectively, I don’t like the cork, or the neck tag, but love the rest of it. It’s pricey, but probably justifiably. I’m giving 4/5 here for a grand total of 84/100.

Pretty simple vanilla & sweet. Easy sipping because of the low ABV.

Nose: caramel, vanilla, toffee, wood spice, pepper. Palate: raisins, toffee, vanilla, honey. Rich yet smooth. I'd love to try it higher proofed.

Tastes like rum on the front end but has the bourbon burn I like. Awesome straight. Very smooth.

Notes of caramel and vanilla. Bitter up front but with a smoother finish. It's good, but not a significant upgrade from the 12 year.