
November 8, 2026

A word of caution
Let me please remind you that my humble assessments of any spirits are done from the point of view of a malt whisky enthusiast who, what's more, is aboslutely not an expert in rum, brandy, tequila, vodka, gin or any other spirits. Thank you – and peace!

The Rum Sessions,
today a few more rums, some very special

After the grapes, the sugar cane! But before the heavy hitters, an apéritif, as usual…

Millonario ‘Numero 15 Reserva Especial’ (40%, OB, Peru, +/-2026)

We first tasted this little Peruvian back when it was called ‘Solera 15’, at a time when the word solera meant next to nothing to the general public. Naturally, everyone assumed it was fifteen years old. These days, the word ‘numero’ appears in beige on beige. All rather clever… Anyway, when we last tried it ten years ago, we found it extremely sweet (S = 9 in SGP, the maximum). Colour: yellow gold (caramel). Nose: liquid caramel, the sort you buy in supermarkets to pour over your crème caramels and cakes. Still, it is not unpleasant at this stage, as there is a mixture of molasses and cane juice, and even a tiny earthy side. Mouth: pure sugar, flavoured with caramel. But do remember that these rums are intended to be served over ice, or at least in cocktails, and that the cold brings out bitterness while reducing the impression of sweetness. We may be the only people ‘tasting’ this baby at room temperature. Silly us. Finish: long, with almost suffocating sweetness. Bailey’s is less sweet. The aftertaste is so sugary that you immediately need 25cl of sparkling water to wash it down. Comments: a proper liqueur, difficult to appreciate as a potential malternative. We shall nevertheless keep the score reasonable, since we have not tasted it in its intended setting.
SGP: 920 – 50 points.

You will understand that immediate countermeasures are required…

Trinidad 26 yo 1999 (57.9%, LMDW Flag Series, Les Anthologistes, Trinidad, cask # CR98/99BB1)

In all likelihood, this is Caroni. Colour: full gold. Nose: imagine somebody mixing crude oil with walnut stain and amontillado. Please note that I am not suggesting there is any amontillado in here. Nor crude oil, for that matter. With water: varnish and glue take to the stage, along with dark tobacco, what we used to call ‘scaferlati’ in the old days. Or those extraordinary Italian cigars, Toscano/Toscani. Mouth (neat): explosive, very saline, clearly in the ‘heavy’ camp, with black olives, touches of acetone, tar, horseradish and plenty of pepper, followed by a sensation of liquid paraffin. With water: a little fresher, with small lemons and quite a lot of eucalyptus bringing a medicinal touch. I doubt it would cure much, except perhaps as a rub. Hmm… Finish: long, still saline and oily, with varnish and dark tobacco. Comments: I must admit I love this extreme style, without the slightest wayward note here, and with something, er, military about it.
SGP: 363 - 91 points.

Since we are in Trinidad…

T.D.L. 26 yo 2000/2026 (61.8%, Silver Seal & Bonded Hog Spirits Club, Trinidad, cask #2086-148)

Possibly the other side of Trinidad & Tobago’s great rums, the fruit bombs. Colour: gold. Nose: ah no, much more balanced than I had expected, somewhere between fresh fruit, cane and esters, although that may be down to the strength. Only one way to find out… With water: it remains rather gentle, with praline and cane honey, but also jasmine, vetiver and, above all, acacia blossom. Is there anything more innocent than acacia blossom? Mouth (neat): a barrage of syrup, cane syrup at first, before citrus and passion fruit emerge from their burrows, although once again the alcohol seems to be holding everything back a little. With water: much livelier now, saline and lemony, but built on a fairly light and, I insist, balanced foundation. Finish: the lemon keeps going, to the point where we almost have a blend of limoncello and mint leaves. We shall have to try that… next summer. Comments: it kept improving in the glass, becoming magnificent towards the finish, which is not such a common occurrence.
SGP: 451 - 89 points.

Shakara 21 yo (45.5%, OB, Thailand, +/-2026)

We rather liked the 12-year-old three or four years ago (WF 81). The molasses used here are produced locally, rather than shipped in from the other side of the world or the continent. Colour: amber. Nose: oh, this is lovely! Rose-flavoured Turkish delight, polished wood, hibiscus, touches of coconut milk, the tiniest hint of nutmeg and pineapple jam, followed by proper gingerbread with plenty of honey in it. Mouth: more spicy wood on the palate, spruce and cedar, also juniper and an amusing rye-like feeling. Add speculoos and cumin for good measure. A very lovely rum, in a different style from both Thailand’s finest (Chalong Bay etc.) and the ‘rums’ aimed at tourists (the terrifying SangSom etc.). Finish: still very delicately spicy. Comments: a real surprise, and an excellent one at that. The spices are wonderful, but then again, this is Thailand, is it not.
SGP: 551 - 86 points.

Cuban Rum 56 yo 1968/2024 (49.7%, Whisky Picnic Bar & Aren Trading, Cuba, barrel, cask #1, 66 bottles)

The reappearance of these very old Cuban rums among the independents has been one of the great recent developments in rum, at least here at WF. We were a little circumspect when the first ones arrived, but since then we have been stringing together marvels like pearls on Shakira’s necklace (it was the Shakara above that made me think of Shakira, I promise). Incidentally, this baby spent its entire maturation in Cuba. Colour: amber red. Nose: holy Fidel, holy Che! An absolute marvel on the nose, with precious tobaccos (Cuban, naturally), but also cooked fruits, exotic honeys, superlative liquorice and a sort of cumin-and-mint duet that may sound odd on paper (all right, on your screen) but is nothing of the sort. A splendid nose, almost enough to ruffle your hair. Mouth: another pure marvel, a whirlwind of chartreuse, genever, aquavit, palo cortado, pipe tobacco, cloves, coffee chocolate, chocolate coffee (clever chap, S.) and, once again, touches of black olive, rather like olive nougat. A killer, but shh, there is not much of it. Finish: long, still gentle and spicy, without the slightest sign of excessive oak after all those years. Juniper and honey in the aftertaste. Comments: what should we listen to while tasting this marvel? I suggest Santana Live at The Fillmore in ’68. Did you know we once played football with the band, Carlos included? But that is another story and those were the 70s…
SGP: 651 - 92 points.

TECA 2022/2026 (52%, Warehouse #1, Legendary Marques, Jamaica)

Here we are in the Czech Republic! And TECA, of course, means Long Pond, more precisely Long Pond with 1,000 to 1,300 grams of esters per HLPA, so the equivalent of an HGML at H. Colour: deep gold. Nose: four is a fine age for these rums. Here we have new Formica (does that still exist?), oilcloth, new wellingtons, olive oil, fresh fir needles (Christmas tree, in other words) and candle soot. There is also a ‘brand new Renault’ side. With water: a little smoked ham. Mouth (neat): very lovely, very fresh, much cleaner than expected, with this feeling of smoked, mentholated oranges. With water: the bitter oranges start strutting their stuff, great job. Finish: long and more bitter, but the bitterness is perfect, ideal, fully accomplished (what?). The salted orange fruit pastes that sign it off work beautifully. Comments: 52% is perfect, you can almost drink it without water, but it would be a shame not to try it with two or three drops of H2O.
SGP: 553 - 90 points.

Hampden 2 yo 2024/2026 ‘HLCF’ (57%, OB, Jamaica, cognac cask, cask #1759, 400 bottles)

500-700 gr esters/HLPA. As for the cognac cask, frankly, we would almost rather not know. Much more interesting is the butterfly on the label, a species endemic to Jamaica, the Jamaican Giant Swallowtail. It is difficult to resist a few unsuitable jokes, so let us move swiftly on… Colour: white wine. Nose: oh, those very emphatic roasted notes! Not so common in rum. Here it feels as though you are nosing a bowl of top-notch hojicha, before the eagerly awaited varnish, acetone and carbon dust make themselves known. Brake-pad dust, or the Paris Métro at rush hour. With water: gentler. Cedar and sandalwood. Mouth (neat): the perfect balance between new plastics and grapefruits. And, of course, seawater, resins, lemons… With water: the sardines and their friends the anchovies come charging in, all from tins. Brine. Finish: long, perfect. HLCF is an ideal marque for normal people who have not turned esters and peat into fetishes. Comments: already perfect at two years old, which is, of course, rather embarrassing.
SGP: 452 - 90 points.

For the last one, we shall stay in Jamaica. Safer that way…

Jamaican Rum 20 yo 2005/2026 (53.5%, Frank McHardy’s Rum Series, for Planet Spirits Singapore, 180 bottles)

We could say that if you know how to make Springbank, you know how to select rum, could we not? Colour: full gold. Nose: a moderate marque, but very Jamaican of course, with lovely notes of twigs, freshly clipped privet, new rubber, damp earth and biofuel. We must move with the times. With water: lovely engine grease, ski wax (how un-Jamaican indeed, although do remember Cool Runnings), and even Barbour wax. Mouth (neat): sharper, peppery, lemony, with an almost unusual degree of liveliness at this age for the island. It is easy to see why the man who managed Springbank for so many years might have selected this cask, which is ultimately rather Campbeltown-like. Or very mineral Sancerre, take your pick. There is almost something of Longrow about it, I promise. With water: top-notch now, superb oneness, with little flashes of lychee and pink grapefruit. Finish: long, very distinguished, moving increasingly towards a modern, very dry gewurz and lemon juice. Comments: all right, we have not identified the distillery with any certainty, but do remember that, when it comes to rum, we are merely tourists here at WF. Great work, Frank.
SGP: 562 - 90 points.

Could we squeeze in one very last one? What do you reckon? We have another very intriguing Jamaican…

R.A.S.C. 1954/2026 ‘3rd Release’ (53.9%, Velier, Jamaica, single rum)

From genuine historic stocks, rather in the manner of Elixir’s earlier Black Tot release. Except that this is not a blend, it is a ‘pure single rum’, and RASC stands for the Royal Army Service Corps, so the army, whose corps handled logistical support (including rum supplies), rather than the Royal Navy. But I am French, I probably have not grasped every detail here. Shall we concentrate on what really matters… Colour: not-so-bright amber. Nose: certainly Jamaican, but rounder, immediately suggesting Appleton rather than the high-ester gunslingers. Otherwise, there is quite a lot of liquorice, prunes, olives, coffee and minerals, leaning towards basalt. Then an increasing quantity of raisins, who knows how they put these rums together back then! With water: rather like an old oloroso. Mouth (neat): it really brings old Wedderburn marques to mind, with lovely citrus alongside the pronounced molasses character, tobacco, orange zest and peppermint. It feels very ‘blended’, but if it says ‘pure single’, then pure single it must be, must it not. With water: the balance remains much the same. Finish: it gradually fades away, without any particular lingering notes beyond cocoa, but then this baby was distilled in 1954. More than seventy years ago. Comments: I think its interest is more historical than anything else, and between us, old bottles of Martinique agricole hold up better and show more complexity, but total respect. All the same.
SGP: 561 - 85 points.

You know what?...

Neisson ‘Léritaj’ (48.5%, OB, Martinique, agricole, 2026)

Nothing too spectacular, just a little mid-range Neisson to finish this session on a different, more forthright and cheerful note… And we rather like their Creole. Léritaj, you will never guess, means L’héritage. In English, heritage. A small world indeed… Colour: gold. Nose: so typical, with cumin, an Indian spice mixture (what they call Indian chewing gum, the stuff they give you at the end of a meal in good restaurants), coriander, increasingly prominent aniseed, gingerbread… This spicy side of Neisson is wonderful because it always remains fresh and never takes over, however clearly present it may be. Increasing touches of fir buds. Mouth: liquorice and pink peppercorns, cedar, ginger (rather… Indian tonic), followed by candied citrons and clementines. This cannot be possible, they must have some secret method that keeps bringing us these magnificent spicy, candied citrus fruits. Finish: fairly long, without any major change, just a little salinity joining in. Comments: excellent. Probably young and involving some ‘wood technology’ particular to Neisson, but I find the whole thing immensely successful. I forgot to mention the return of mint liquorice in the aftertaste, apologies.
SGP: 562 - 88 points.

Check the index of all rum we've tasted

The Rum Sessions, today a few more rums, some very special

The Rum Sessions,
today a few more rums, some very special