Rum Sponge Jamaica 19 yr

The nose starts off with a vegetal funky fruit mixture then fruits of salted mango, plantain chips, and pineapple before transitioning to funky oily aromas and spices of cardamom, saffron, star anise and whole peppercorns with high ethanol burn. The taste is a medium mouthfeel starting with creamy butterscotch before a vegetal funky fruit mixture then fruits of bananas foster, limoncello and pineapple before a medium spice that fades to dark chocolate, funky oily notes and spices of cardamom, saffron, star anise and whole peppercorns with high ethanol burn. The finish is medium length with vegetal funky notes, dark chocolate, butterscotch, pineapple, mango, cardamom and limoncello. This is one funky fruity rum that brings in fruits, funky vegetal, and spices that are well-balanced without the funk overwhelming the flavors but controlled enough to add complexity to the sweet fruits and spices. If you’re a fan of Campbeltown whisky, this would likely be a rum that would fit your palate well, but you’ll need to be a fan of some funky flavors to really enjoy it. A big thank you to @PBMichiganWolverine for the generous sample of this to try.

Nose - overripe banana, spoiled cream, vanilla, molasses, charred orange, fusel notes, white pepper, allspice, cardamom, pineapple, mango, moderate to high ethanol burn. Taste - pineapple, orange, overripe banana, vanilla cream, molasses, lemon, lime, ginger, white pepper, olive brine, fusel notes, cinnamon, allspice, moderate alcohol bite, finishing long with pineapple, lemon oil, and fusel flavors. If there was any doubt about this rum’s provenance, unscrewing the cap on my sample immediately put that to rest. This screams Jamaica. Funk, hogo, fusel oils. Whatever you want to call it, this has it all. It’s rotten and elegant at the same time, which is the way I like my Jamaican rums. The nose and palate are fairly synced and dominated by spoiled tropical fruit, citrus oils, spiced molasses, and some vegetal olive brine notes. And the finish lingers deliciously for minutes. This is excellent rum. It’s certainly the best Jamaican I’ve tried, although it tastes younger and brighter than I would have expected after aging for 19 years in the Caribbean. Nonetheless, I would happily drink this anytime I want to get slapped around a bit. A big thank you to @PBMichiganWolverine for providing the generous sample!

I’m usually a big believer in balance. Everything in moderation. I have one pour a week, rest of the evenings it’s green tea. Even in tastings, I seldom go beyond 2 pours ( a sip of many different whiskeys ). But this one here really tested that ying-yang balance approach. It’s way too drinkable, and one can easily drink 1/4 of the bottle before even knowing it. So, this is a Hampden 19 yr , Jamaica. Not sure if it’s aged fully in the tropics or UK…but I’m guessing partial tropics , partial UK. On the nose, you get pineapples and bananas. Taste—-fruit salad—with more of the pineapples and banana, limoncello…and green olives?!?! That turn from the Caribbean to Italy really makes this elevate from a 3 star good rum to a 4+ unique one. I’m not a fan of sweet rums at all, and the only ones I’ve liked were the high funk / eater of Caroni or Foursquare. But this has a balance of both—you get the fruits and the ester funk. Made for whiskey fans —specifically if you’re a fan of Irish whiskey or Cambeltown. Unfortunately, as soon as Serge Valentin came out with a 91 score, these sold out. Glad I took the plunge and bought a bottle