Rating: 16/23 N: There's some nice maturity here. Varnished wood, leads. P: Nicely rounded. The alcohol doesn't show through here. I get varnished wood with a nice sweet caramel and light brown sugar layer floating on vanilla beneath it. There are some nice spices in the cinnamon and ginger range with some white pepper adding in vegetal character and heat to balance this out. I'm not really getting fruit, but if you told me that tropical fruit brushed against the edge of this, I could buy it. A bit more of that sandalwood vanilla than in the 15 year old version. F: Varnish, caramel, wood, numbing. A bit of white pepper with vegetal and odd herbal notes on the long finish. - Conclusion - This beats Panamá-Pacific 15 (15/23) and Frigate 15 for sure. I don't think that this is an excellent rum, but it's enjoyable. For the price, it's a bit steep, but not something that I deeply regret. I'm thinking that this is a solid 16. It could be a high 16, but it isn't a 17. Well, if it is a 17, then it's a low 17. Highland Park 16 Wings of the Eagle (17/23) is more complex with less youthfulness.