Plantation Trinidad 2003

Nose - molasses, overripe banana, herbal and vegetal notes, buttercream frosting, clove, lemon meringue, mango, pineapple skin, caramel, honey, mild to moderate ethanol burn. Taste - molasses, chili pepper, ginger, lemon oil, overripe banana, pineapple, coconut, powdered sugar, raisin, macadamia nut, mint, clove, orange zest, tannic oak, moderate alcohol bite, finishing medium length with deep citrus, molasses, and dried tropical fruit flavors. My Plantation series ends with this 2003 Trinidad offering. The nose starts rather subtly but opens up significantly with time in the glass. Molasses, cakey buttercream frosting, and a whole host of tropical fruit aromas. The palate is rich and spicy. Strong citrus oil notes dominate with more tropical fruits, nuts, and marked wood flavors. Overall, this is the best of the bunch. It tastes less saccharine than most Plantations, and it’s certainly more interesting. It’s deeply citric, almost too much so, but stops before becoming off putting. Actually as I’m nearing the end the review, I’m realizing this has grown on me over the past hour. This is really good stuff, great even. I’d happily purchase a bottle of this, but am grateful for the generous sample @ContemplativeFox sent me to review.

The Bottle: Pretty standard Plantation fare here, a "tropical" looking front label with a ton of information on the back that you may (or may not) find interesting. I personally do. In the Glass: Straw-gold. Very light on the color with nice legs if you swirl it in the glass. On the Nose: Tropical fruit sweetness, brown sugar, and a touch of....some kind of baking spice that I can't put my finger on. It reads very much like a nice rum, with very little "hogo" or "funk". Taste: The sweetness on the nose carries through on the development. Banana and...mango? Sweet tropical fruit basket with just a touch of astringency on the finish. This doesn't finish dry at all like many of its Jamaican counterparts, so it's defiantly got it's own thing going on. The finish is a "hair" too sweet for my taste, but nowhere near as much as something like a Ron Diplomatico. This one isn't a piece of candy. This is a really good example of why rums from Trinidad are mentioned at the same time as those from Jamaica and Barbados. Each of these regions have very strong offerings and unique profiles going for them. Rums from Trinidad feel like the middle child of the group to me...always trying to keep the peace between the very different Older and Younger siblings. This one is very well rounded and put together. It may be a touch too sweet for some who are looking for something a bit drier, but I think that it is equally at home as a sipper or a mixer. If you're new to "real" rum, I think that this would be a great place to start. It's not as complex as some of the finer options from Barbados nor is it as...challenging (and I mean this in a very good way) as some of the Jamaicans.

The nose is a lot of tropical fruit with some spice and funk. It smells divine. The palate is very sweet with tons of tropical fruit, but it isn't out of control. There is some savory papaya, mango, and passion fruit reigning it in. The vanilla and orange blossom are great additions. There is wood and there is spice and the two balance the hogo very well. All of the flavors work well together, aside from the little bit of alcohol that sticks out. This reminds me a surprising amount of Bushmill's 21, but it's probably better and it sure is a lot cheaper. There are otherwise no off notes and the flavor is interesting and balanced. The white pepper adds a fair amount of burn and some vegetation. The flavor is butterscotchy and viscous, though the finish tends a bit toward a lighter caramel flavor. There are hints of orange marmalade, but they are subtle and nice. There is richness with some oil that gives a mild but pre alent nutty flavor. No nutty bitterness, but it does make the drink more creamy and present. This lands in the 20 to 21 score range, making it an exemplar of what rum can be. I love the flavors and I love the complexity. It's a rum for everybody without being a rum for nobody. What a marvelous success. There's eventually a bit of a root beer or cola flavor here. It gets a little too sweet at points but it is still delightfully balanced and delicious. It's a bit weaker than other Plantation offerings with named years, but it's still excellent. That hint of apricot that comes through is a lot like an Irish whiskey, but this avoids that usual Irish error. It isn't perfect, but I love it. This is more interesting than Plantation 20th. It's sweet for sure, but it has nice fireworks and lots of tropical fruit notes. There are wood and spice flavors, but they don't overwhelm. The balance is excellent and it's interesting. I'd like some more complexity and a bigger punch, but this is a great drink. This tasting is directly following Foursquare Premise. The nose is fruity. Not light, not overly sweet. Fruity. Apricot jumps right out with a rich presence that reminds me of Bushmill's 21. OK. I'll break out the Bushmill's 21 to compare. There are some other tropical notes too, like in Kavalan Soloist Port, but without the oppressive smoke that overtakes everything. This is much more subtle than that. The nose alone is fascinating, with so many layers to explore. This is the nose complex nose among rums I have tried. It kicks Ron Diplomatico and Ron Zacapa to the curb. Foursquare Premise, you might not be beaten here in pure hedonism, but you are on notice. There's a tiny bit of squash and chili pepper scent in here, but they are subtle. It has a richness and engaging complexity that make it something I could sniff for days. Maybe a little pineapple too. The palate is immediately sweet with the fruit and a tiny bit of mineral with some vegetal flavor too (remember: immediately following Foursquare Premise). It has tons and tons of fruit. There's a bit of floral, but the apricot and pear and banana and mango and pineapple overwhelm it. There's someore harshness than in some other spirits, but it's nothing like the harshness of most whiskeys less than 15 years old. Its harshness is on par with that of a sherried 15 year old whiskey, but that harshness gives it some life. It's rich and complex with a terrific balance that tastes of impeccably aged rhum agricole. This is a treat with complexity of so many different aspects of rum. Some of the umami comes through and there's even some of that soy sauce and garlic of Helios (in very small quantity). It's tremendously interesting. Not all of the flavors quite land, but it's fascinating and everything goes together quite well enough. It's a pleasure to contemplate. It isn't quite on par with Foursquare Premise based on this tasting, but it's a contrarion alternative that's delightful to sip and offers a new perspective. This is amazing, especially for the price. I'll leave it at 21 for now, but this is a treasure for sure. It's rum (possibly just rhum agricole) in a nutshell, showing off the purities of this tropical drink in a stunning way. This is clearly better than both of the Rons and also Plantation 20th, though with its strong character, I can see why many would gravitate towards the more standard offerings (and also not gravitate toward Foursquare Premise either). This is such a delight. Following it up with Foursquare Premise, I still like the Foursquare a bit better. Maybe that is a 23 and this is a 22 then? But then where does Springbank 12 land? Springbank 12 is also right there in that 22 range, despite its extra waxiness. It tastes terrific right after Foursquare Premise. There is quite a group of competitive spirits assembled here. Springbank 12 has a finish that is a tad off though.

After my brush with the delightful 1991 vintage, I decided that I needed one of these bottles for my own collection. Fat chance of finding a 1991, but I headed down to Old Town Tequila figuring they might be my best chance of finding one locally. Thank goodness they are still allowing walk in customers, albeit with a mask and a max of 4 at a time. After 20 minutes of pulling and checking every bottle of Plantation rum I could find in their exceedingly disorganized shelves, I found this 2003 vintage. I quickly pulled up the Distiller app, checked the reviews, saw Cascodes excellent notes and pulled the trigger. On to the tasting. Nose: Rich vanilla, caramel, molasses and some type of dried fruits. Palate: Perfect sweetness level, rich with caramel, vanilla and molasses. Finish: Medium length with a tinge of spice, the caramel and vanilla are sustained. Another delightful Plantation rum.

Nose: mango, peach, pineapple, coconut, honey, bit vanilla, pear Palate: fruit, spices (pepper/nutmeg?), a bit toasty wood, Finish: peach, pear, fruits, sugar beet syrup, spicy