Privateer Distiller's Drawer "Sea Smoke #2"

Nose - light molasses, salted caramel, floral notes, milk chocolate, earthy mint, vanilla, almond cake, apple, toasted marshmallow, banana, barrel char, moderate ethanol burn. Taste - molasses, brine, butterscotch, oily peat, sour apple, cherry, allspice, cocoa, spearmint, lemon oil, spicy oak, tar, tobacco, leather, moderate to high alcohol bite, finishing medium long with dark molasses, peaty citrus oil, and spicy spearmint flavors. This is my first of three Privateer rum reviews. Privateer is a new distillery for me. They are a craft producer located in Ipswich, Massachusetts and pride themselves on producing rums without added sweetening, flavoring, filtering, or spicing. A distillery after my own heart! This particular bottling is cask strength, slightly younger than three years old, and finished in Laphroaig barrels. The nose is creamy, with molasses, salted caramel, sweet almond cake, and toasted marshmallows and bananas. The palate hits hard with oily, rich molasses, deeply sour citrus, tobacco, mint, and leather. The Laphroaig influence is present but not overbearing, although the citrus quality is rather strong. The finish lingers nicely with lasting citrus oil, mint, leather, and tannic oak. Overall, this is a hell of a rum. The flavors are surprisingly dark and rich for a rum so young, although the youth is certainly present. It’s undeniably great rum. It could be outstanding rum if it were slightly more mature and the citrus component wasn’t so overwhelming. A big thank you to my friend @jonwilkinson7309 for the sample and for introducing me to this quality distillery.

Hay color. The Laphroaig finish really shines in this expression. The first note I get on the nose is the peat smoke, lighter than a Laphroaig but dominant here. Go a little deeper and you find vanilla bean, caramelized bananas, bubbling brown sugar, hints of asphalt and burnt cinnamon stick. Despite the pale color, the mouthfeel is robust and the legs on the side of the glass are thick and long. The palate has all the best qualities of an Islay Scotch and a rich, sweet rum: molasses, vanilla ice cream, salted caramel, iodine, potting soil, sea spray, hints of asphalt, allspice, pipe tobacco and oak. The finish is long, warm and dry, with lingering oak and peat, burnt sugar and cinnamon stick, and subtle notes of sage and clove.

Privateer International Distiller’s Drawer Sea Smoke #2 Used Laphroaig Barrel 54.4% abv min 2yrs Nose: soft and rounded. Both sweet and brine. salty caramel, ocean breeze as you top the dunes, roasted almonds, vanilla, sugar cookie, faint hint of iodine and seaweed. Apples, toffee, and salted milk chocolate. Damp oak and ash. Palate: salty sweet right up front. Savory swirls with molasses. The Islay barrel swings first and hits with soft smoke, sweet iodine, seaweed tinged brine. It’s all carried on a stream of soft caramel rolled in sea salt, molasses, smoked and roasted almonds, saltwater taffy, stewed apples with a hint of clove. The proof concentrates on the center back of the tongue with some gentle ginger spice and a sprinkling of white pepper. Finish: sweet buttery molasses rolled with soft Islay peat. Ginger and vanilla cream, worn leather, and caramel coffee.

The aromas are sweet, smoky, and briny. It smells like you are on a boat in the best way, with fresh sea air, rubber, oil, and an overlying freshness. The essence of sweet apple wood smoke builds on the tongue and billows in your mouth.