Had a little sip last night of the Sovereignty, and found myself liking it more than I had previously. It got me thinking about the most recent ECS release, which I had passed over because of price and fear of too much tannin. Today my curiosity got the best of me, and I decided to pick this one up. Thankfully, there were still a couple bottles left on the shelf. It’s expensive, but 17 years in bourbon barrels in the Caribbean got me. Pineapple cake, vanilla, brown sugar, candied nuts, banana, coconut, key lime, slightly floral, semisweet chocolate, dusty oak warehouse, cherry pipe tobacco, menthol. I was worried this would go too bitter like the Shibboleth; fortunately, it manages to be nicely woody but stay short of overly bitter. The oak is there, but it’s less prominent than I thought it’d be. I’m admittedly somewhat limited in my rum experience, but this takes up the mantle as the best rum I’ve tried to date, which had previously been occupied by FS Nobiliary. Unfortunately my taste of Nobiliary was only a sample, so I won’t be able to do a proper comparison. But, as I’m quite fond of the FS 2009 (and do still have a bottle), I did a little SbS. This was clearly deeper, richer, and more well-rounded with the oak, tropical fruit, and vanilla flavors. This is bold and rich, but it’s also super easy to drink. Truly an incredible rum. It’s in the 4.75-5 range, but going with a 5 for now.