Background: it is exciting when people around you are buying casks and bottling rums. Granted, we are still far from having an IB the calibre of say, Nobilis, but these are baby steps towards something potentially big, and they bring about a healthy dose of optimism surrounding the kind of consumables I love. This particular sample comes from a single cask, selected by two Singaporeans, and distilled at the most well-known distillery in Belize, Travellers Liquors.

Nose: dried figs and dates and raisins as top notes; Bing cherries; Pandan chiffon cake; toasted coconut; quite a bit of funk underneath; balsamic vinegar; clothes drying indoors; rotten eggs; cooking gas; morel mushrooms; rust; digging deeper, I get an array of sweet notes; golden syrup; molasses; cocoa butter; dark chocolate shavings; some fresh apple juice and leather round off the aromatic bouquet.

Palate: the 65.6% a.b.v. makes itself known on entry; the mouthfeel is thick and textural -- this is not your usual ron; cola with baking spices; golden syrup; liquorice sticks; beh teh sor, with its slightly savoury maltose filling; roasted marshmallows dipped in chocolate; molasses; grilled sugarcane; something cake-y and toasted, maybe a Belgian waffle; the back-palate is mentholated, with accents of stewed apples.

Finish: the start of the finish is very interesting; cooking gas and varnish; spectacle lens cleaning solution; then the wood comes forth, in familiar notes of Christmas cake and toffee; an ensemble of herbal liqueurs follows; the aftertaste comprises liquorice, sarsaparilla, a blend of chocolate fudge and whipped cream, as well as a metallic tinge that reminds me of a St Lucia rum.

Conclusion: a bold expression of the Spanish-style column distillate. I am especially surprised by the slightly savoury notes on display here. This would score higher if it weren’t so hot on the palate. I was never a fan of Spanish rons, finding them typically too light and one-dimensional. A few samples I have tried recently overturned that opinion: this is one of them. I cannot say that I am totally converted or that I am now a fan, but it is not an inherent ron trait to be light, and certainly a ron need not be less complex than a fine demerara -- not with the right people behind the selection.

Score (assuming a normal distribution with mean 50): 81/100

Image Courtesy of u/zoorado. 

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