This is the second TDL rum (Trinidad Distillers Ltd) of what should be a total of six single casks that were all distilled on the very same day, but will be bottled at varying ages, as joint bottlings for Singapore's famed The Auld Alliance bar and wine and spirits retailer Colheitas, by independent bottler Compagnie des Indes.

For some pretext, the first bottling of this series, which was released one year ago before this new release (hence 1 year younger), was sold out in record time the moment it was buzzed about as a "fruit bomb". It was well regarded as being intensely fruity of tinned lychees (which indeed was the case), it was also retailed for a really good price considering Singapore's high alcohol taxes.

| Read: [First Edition - Reviewed] Compagnie Des Indes TDL 2003, Trinidad Rum, 18 Years Old, Single Cask For The Auld Alliance and Colheitas, 58.8% ABV

So when this second release was announced, I had quickly scooted off to The Auld Alliance to give it a shot before it was gone (which I proudly proclaim myself to be the first of the expedition to have this fabled rum touch my palate - a cheap thrill, if anything), in fact I was an hour early to the bar's opening time.

The first release that set the fervour off.

I had found the first release seriously fruity albeit a tad too confectionary for my taste - almost cotton candy-esque, which I'm aware is a hot favorite for many folks. But I had theorised that with an additional year of aging, this second release might have deepened its flavors and mellowed out its brightness, and would go right down my alley.

Before we go at it let's recap TDL's history. TDL is currently the only rum distillery in Trinidad, primarily producing the Angostura rum. And if the name rings a bell, you might be thinking about Angostura Bitters, which was actually the original product of the Angostura company.

Did you know Angostura made rums to supply its bitters business?

However, as the bitters got increasingly popular, Angostura found itself buying rum in bulk to lower the cost of producing its bitters. At some point it made economic sense to establish its own rum distillery to supply the base input for its bitters, the excess rum would then be bottled as Angostura rum under the TDL subsidiary.

Over a series of complicated geopolitical and economic circumstances, the company came to acquire another key distillery, Fernandes, and when the now-legendary shuttered Caroni Distillery came down as well, TDL had acquired some of its remaining rum stock. Regardless, TDL today remains as Trinidad's only rum distillery and hence we have TDL or Angostura rum.

(Image Source: Cocktail Wonk)

Back to the fervour-inducing bottle I have on hand today - I think this truly is a wonderful series that will allow drinkers to better appreciate and comprehend the aging effect on the rum, given that all six single casks were distilled on the same day and matured in the same manner. A really exciting and valuable initiative by The Auld Alliance, Colheitas and Compagnie des Indes. Bravo!

Let's give it a go!

Compagnie Des Indes TDL 2003, Trinidad Rum, 19 Years Old, Single Cask For The Auld Alliance and Colheitas, 59.1% ABV - Review 

Tasting Notes

Color: Copper

Aroma: Incredibly aromatic - fresh green and red apples, alittle bit of apple calvados, and then a harkening back to tinned lychees and longans - tropical and slightly musky, almost a little herbal. This gets darker with more natural sweetness of fresh lychees and longans rather than confectionary or sweetened.

With time it brightens and lightens up again with a touch of bubblegum ice cream and more of that confectionary tropical fruits.

Taste: Wow! This is incredibly distinct and precise with super strong notes of fresh-from-the-market lychees and longans - it is sweet but not overly so. It has a really strong muskiness and herbal flavor that is almost identical to that of longans. It is smooth and medium bodied, and intensely - and I mean, intensely - fruity. More longans than lychees for me. Heavy on the salted longans in fact!

Finish: Here it becomes even more aromatic with intense esters, again with the fresh natural sweetness and musk of lychees and longans - very much an extension of palate. But oh wow! It evolves even more with a medicinal note of steamed lotus leaves, and black pepper.

A medium length finish that recedes into a slight grittiness of coffee grounds, and then dirtier on diesel and engine grease, with an accentuated hit of olive brine and green olives. It continues on even more with heavily over-ripened fruit, with more vegetal bits of vines and dried twigs, with a final bit of grapefruit pith.

My Thoughts

Incredible. This is just stunning - I have not had anything come close to this. Try it if you don't believe me - money back guaranteed. This is ridiculously aromatic, from the moment it was poured out, the tropical fruits poured forth. It is so incredibly estery but what strikes me most is just how distinctive and precise it is - of fresh longans and lychees, with that muskiness.

And while the palate was a single (albeit incredibly intense) note, the finish was a world of flavors and textures. It wasn't just a continuation of the aromas and taste, but it evolved into a more leafy vegetal note as well as got more gritty and then just when you thought it was over, nope - something heavily reminiscent of Caroni's - that dirtiness.

Naturally, this has to be compared with the first release (the 18 Year Old). Well, frankly I liked the second release (the 19 Year Old) way more. Here it had more depth, and was richer, and perhaps most stand out - fresh and fruity. It was less of that confectionary, syrupy tinned fruits, and alot more on fresh from the market fruits. It's resemblance to actual longans is just remarkable. How exciting what difference a year made!

Splendid. You have to try this. It's available at Singapore's The Auld Alliance bar and I presume will eventually be available at Colheitas as well. 

Kanpai!

@111hotpot