Rums, rums and more rums


March 15, 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!

Rums, rums and more rums

Another very clickbaity headline, isn’t it? But we can’t help loving that sort of thing, the kind that goes: ‘10 rums you absolutely must buy before it’s too late — the tenth will really surprise you.’ Right, we’ll try to pick them at random, but without skipping our traditional apéritif…

Beenleigh Distillery in Australia (Beenleigh)

Botran No.15 ‘Reserva Especial’ (40%, OB, Guatemala, +/-2025)

A previous ‘15’ had not been so bad back in 2017 (WF 72). Apart from that, we still like these fake numbers in huge digits that make one think of age statements without of course being any such thing. Yuck. Colour: full gold. Nose: light touches of shoe polish and metal polish at first, we rather like that, then earth and bagasse, without any extravagant molasses. A little pancake syrup, nonetheless, but it remains fairly elegant. Mouth: the palate is sweeter, yet rather without excess. The problem is that the overall lightness inevitably steers it towards coffee liqueur and caramel, without any real structure behind it. Finish: short, but with rather pleasant notes of orange liqueur. A touch of charcoal and black tea in the fleeting aftertaste. Comments: we find this perfectly decent, actually more decent than in 2017, though we are not entirely sure it was exactly the same recipe back then.
SGP:441 - 74 points.

Black Tot ‘Finest Caribbean Rum’ (46.2%, Elixir Distillers, +/-2025)

Barbados, Trinidad, Guyana and Jamaica together in concert. Bottled in Scotland, which is rather reassuring. Indeed. Colour: gold. Nose: a truly British nose for a rum, as opposed to a Spanish-style nose or a French-style nose, although there are more and more exceptions of course. In short it is lovely, with small touches of petrol (old Jaguar, ha) and engine oil (still that old Jag), but also liquorice pastries, marshmallow, fruitcake and roasted chestnuts. Perhaps a small wandering olive as well. Mouth: the same architecture, at first slightly petroly and liquoricy, but this time moving more and more towards orange liqueur and Earl Grey tea. Earl Grey, that is international, is it not. The whole is very well balanced; one senses the hand of a master blender. Finish: not that long, but the mint that comes to complement the slightly salty liquorice does a superb job. It is almost refreshing. Comments: we shall not re re re re tell what the black tot was for the British navy, shall we. A very good, easy going rum (also economically speaking).
SGP:551 - 85 points.

Belize 9 yo 2015/2025 (48%, The Rum Trail, Elixir Distillers, 2025)

I do not believe I have ever tasted a Belize that was not from Travellers, have you. Colour: gold. Nose: this is a ‘multi-column’ rum but there is still some texture, which always makes us think a little of Foursquare, though please do not hold that against it. A very pretty composition around oranges in all their forms, as zest, candied, in liqueurs. Behind that, notes of lime blossom and cigarette tobacco. As long as we can still mention that one without risking a hefty fine or worse, we may as well enjoy it, you understand. Mouth: along the same lines, with orange zests, orgeat, hazelnut syrup, very, very light petroly touches, then very, very ripe mango, which on the palate may almost be the same thing. Finish: fairly long, with the arrival of pink pepper and citrusy hops. More fresh wood and linseed oil in the aftertaste. Comments: amusingly, it is not extremely far from the fine Black Tot, yet there are no Travellers in the latter, is there.
SGP:551 - 85 points.

Foursquare 14 yo (58%, OB for Wu Dram Clan, Barbados, bourbon barrel, 2026)

This lovely little baby has just arrived at WF Towers, so let us taste it without delay. Colour: amber. Nose: cakes, macarons, brioches, nougat, butter croissants and almond croissants, plus pistachio oil and sesame oil. There is both a gentle side and a firmer side at the same time, this is typically Foursquare in our very humble opinion. With water: hay, bagasse, hazelnut cream, bergamot sweets. Mouth (neat): lively orange and small aniseed touches, the whole rather begging for the addition of water we feel. With water: it works, it moves towards herbal infusions and green tea. Finish: not excessively long, more still on herbal infusions and hay. Comments: Foursquare as a ‘single blend’, therefore column plus a little pot still, it really is the light spirit that pleases lovers of powerful spirits, there is probably some sort of magic underneath it all. Or rather, some voodoo.
SGP:451 - 90 points.

Australia 17 yo 2007/2025 (48%, The Rum Trail, Elixir Distillers, 2025)

This time we imagine it is Beenleigh, pure pot still. Besides, the label says, ‘Single Pot Still’, which ought to suggest that a single pot still was used for both the first and second run, in a necessarily very discontinuous fashion. Or am I wrong again? Colour: gold. Nose: killer. Where else will you find a combination of diesel fuel and rose water. I might almost have said it smells like a lady of questionable virtue filling up her Audi Q7, but I shall not say that (too late, S.). Add lychee, gewurztraminer, cherry juice and liquorice. We find this rather magnificent, very spectacular, and intriguing. Mouth: well, it is not that much of a surprise, we have already tasted superb Beenleighs, but still. Intensely fruity and phenolic, oranges, cranberries, olives, varnish and so on. Finish: long on similar notes, and at 17 years it is beginning to turn tertiary, with cured ham with pepper for example. Mad stuff. Comments: gentle madness. I agree, let us forget that Q7 story.
SGP:562 - 90 points.
UPDATE: A secret note from WF's own FBI (Fullproof Booze Investigation) has just informed us that Beenleigh is in fact distilled using a column-and-pot still configuration. Thanks, Steve!

Come on then, let’s head to Guyana…

Guyana 2004 (53.1%, Velier, 3,000 bottles, 2025)

This should be a blend of several marques or stills from Diamond, although we have not really dug into the literature. The ageing is entirely tropical. Colour: reddish amber. Nose: rather gentle on the nose, very much on roasted chestnuts, espresso, furniture polish, very ripe pomegranate, pecan pie. In short, any possible esters still seem to be fast asleep at this stage. With water: pecan pie drenched in wax and varnish becomes even more pronounced. Mouth (neat): it strikes the palate more firmly, which was to be expected. Coffee, varnish, mustard, black pepper, brine. With water: plenty of very ripe fruits arrive, including strawberry wine. Strawberry wine is always surprising. Finish: long, more cooked, jammier. Blackcurrant in red wine. Comments: the whole is not precise like a Swatch, but it is amusing like a Rolex. In short, a question of timing, yet a very, very fine Diamond of course.
SGP:651 - 87 points.

While we’re over there…

Diamond 23 yo 2002/2025 (58.3%, Silver Seal for LMDW, Itinéraires, Guyana)

This is Port Mourant. Ah, those old Port Mourants from Silver Seal. Colour: chardonnay. Nose: straight brine, olives, used engine oil, bitter almonds, ink and Barbour grease. It is unassailable. With water: almond milk, ink, seaweed, wood glue, a touch of acetone. It remains a Guyanese that feels a little Jamaican, if you see what we mean. Mouth (neat): superb, forthright, salty and petroly to one’s heart’s content, one might almost think of a great Alsatian riesling. Truly. With water: have they matured seawater in oak casks? It becomes increasingly bitter, yet it is a magnificent bitterness, amaro, bitters, salty tar and so on. Finish: the same. Let us keep this short. Comments: it rather crushes the 2004, but we shall leave our dear Italian friends to debate the matter among themselves… (wink).
SGP:462 - 90 points.

Next, we’re off to Jamaica, as usual…

WP 2015/2025 (56.7%, The Whisky Jury, refill barrel, cask #19, 238 bottles)

WP 2015/2025 (56.7%, The Whisky Jury, The Many Faces of Rum, refill barrel, cask #19, 238 bottles)

Wait, is that meant to be one of the many faces of rum on the label?WP does not mean WordPress in this context, does it. Nor Wolf Parade. We rather love Worthy Park, the Jamaican estery style perhaps a little more streamlined than the others. Colour: white wine. Nose: this is truly an artist’s studio, with oil paint, linseed oil, drawing gum, canvases, but also fresh putty and almond milk, balsa wood and cedar, plus our dear little olives. With water: carbon dust turned up to full blast. Mouth (neat): it is really the clarity that is impressive here. Someone might have taken grapefruits, smoked them over beechwood, then generously salted them, before marinating them in petrol. With water: it is not complicated, yet it is utterly beautiful, with the precision of a sniper (S., not the right moment). Finish: long, almost simple, almost narrow. Lovely bitters. Comments: in truth, it is almost refined, without wishing to exaggerate.
SGP:463 - 90 points.

Clarendon 1995/2025 (64.4%, Swell de Spirits, V and B, Jamaica, #4, Arcade series, 165 bottles)

The label is a little pixelated, is it not. Even more pixelated than the miserable illustrations on Whiskyfun, which says quite a lot. Colour: amber. Nose: 92 points. Incredible at this strength, on peach jam and papaya of great pedigree (eh). With water: fresh varnish, lanolin, polishes, leather wax for Rolls-Royce (you exaggerate again, S.), old library. Mouth (neat): 92 points for sure. Incredible essential oils, plant extracts, embrocations. With water: a massive pepper arrives, yet it is pepper of intercontinental quality. Pine sap. Finish: very long, superbly bitter, ending on extraordinary pepper and salt. Comments: but where did they find this mad cask. The wood is intense and immense, yet it is a woodiness that we find sublime.
SGP:572 - 92 points.

Well, we’ve ended up condemning ourselves to finishing with some Hampden, though it’s a very gentle sentence, we can all agree…

Hampden 2023/2025 ‘HLCF’ (64.6%, OB for The Whisky Exchange, ex-sherry from Fundador, cask #A3, 764 bottles)

HLCF means roughly 600 grams of esters per hectolitre of pure alcohol. The sherry side worries us a little, let us say it frankly, yet the name Fundador reassures us quite a lot, nonetheless. The number of bottles also suggests a proper butt. Colour: gold. Nose: we shall dare to say it, the sherry has very little to say here, this is pure, clear, precise and very beautiful Hampden, with sublime notes of fruit peel, mango, zests and so on. We are aware that the bottling strength is almost lethal, so… With water: unfathomable beauty, little rare fruits, precious white wines, earth and rocks. Mouth (neat): perfection in a bottle. The sherry is as anecdotal as intelligence in a speech by Pete H. With water: forget it, it is perfect. Finish: it does. Comments: sublime muck-driven rum. Between ourselves, it cannot be so easy to manage the aging of a distillate that is already perfect from the very first drops that escape the spirit still. There are very few distillates whose quality does not depend at all on the number of years in cask, yet HD is certainly one of them. We now hope for ageing in sandstone, clay, concrete or even stainless steel in the near future. Or even in polished cement finished with beeswax. Game.
SGP:563 - 92 points.

A session which, once again, reminds me a little of what used to be said about football in the 1970s: it’s a game played by two teams, and in the end the Germans win. Here, it’s always Hampden that wins in the end. Hoppla.

Check the index of all riums we've tasted