What is it? Dominican rum distilled in 1980, aged for 23 years in oak and put into stainless steel tasks for 10 more years; makes it 23 years old as the tanking doesn’t count towards maturation. No details of distillery. Molasses based.

Doesn’t say it’s natural colour but for 23 years old it looks about right. Filtered and 40% abv.

Sugar? No on-line data, but I can’t detect any.

Nose: Hmmmm. Erm……hmmmmmm. There must be a nose here somewhere……nope.

Palate: Oh dear. Tastes like generic spirit.

Finish: Yes, it does, very quickly.

Thoughts? Right. I’m not having this. I’ve spent £60 on this bottle and I will taste something dammit! Lets give it 15mins and come back to it.

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(15-20 mins later)

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Ok, let’s have you!

Nose: Ah, it has a smell now. It’s not jumping out of the glass at me, gotta get my nose right in there, but I can smell rum! Nose prickle, oak, some general baking spices. Mixed nuts, oak, maybe even a faintest whiff of smoke.

Palate: Yeah this is better. Medium body, very dry. Oak. Oak, some more oak and lots of nuts (Walnuts), like I’ve just run my tongue over a wooden plank. A little woody spice; cinnamon, nutmeg and a tiny touch of clove. A distant nod to brown sugar, way off over there somewhere.

Finish: Still quick. Short finish, like it can’t wait to get out of the door. For the brief moment that it’s about there are some mixed nuts, salted and roasted, some tobacco leaf, vanilla (light) and some baking cupboards again.

Thoughts? Hard work that. I think I know why this was tanked after 23 years; someone forgot about these casks, realised they were past it and tried to rescue them by putting the contents into steel tanks to stop any further maturation. Too late guys, this has died of old age. The casks have totally murdered the rum, way too over oaked and there is little to no vibrancy left in the spirit.
I am being a little harsh on this, but I spent quite a bit on a bottle and I’m left disappointed, so harsh it is I’m affraid. Note: as the bottle has gone down, by about half way (and a few months), it’s started to open up quite a lot more; it gave less oak and more spices. I actually started to enjoy it. This is still a very dry rum and it’s not going to blow your mind and doesn’t have much complexity, but it’s passable.