What is it? Pure Single Rum from Jamaica (100% pot still, from molasses, at one distillery). This rum was distilled at the Long Pond distillery in June 2000 and bottled in February 2017 by Independent Bottler Duncan Taylor after spending 16 years ageing. It is one of 237 bottles from cask number 17. There are no details of where this has been aged, but given the taste profile, abv and the colour of the rum I’m confident this was aged in Europe.

Lond Pond are known, like Hampden, for producing rums with a wide range of ester levels and are very famous for their Wedderburn style which sits at 200-300 gr/hlaa – unfortunately there are no details of the rum marque or ester levels on the bottle so we can’t say with any certainty what’s in here, guess I’ll have to drink it and find out!

Not chill-filtered, not coloured and bottled at 54.1% abv.

Sugar? Nope.

Nose: Ah, I’m guessing we’ve got a mid to lower ester rum here. Softer and more subtle than I was expecting. Plenty of warm oak at first which, given the very light colour, is surprising. Vanilla, thinned golden syrup and brown butter. Then we get the fruit; mango, papaya, black bananas, banana bread, kiwi and a blast of lime. Nail polish, salty olive brine and some rubber balloons add a savoury touch. There is a slight herbal note in here too, maybe some pine sap and tomato leaf. It all blends well and is not in your face like some other Long Ponds I’ve had from 2000.

Palate: Full mouth, oily, the legs just sit on the side of the glass and hardly move. Immediately it’s savoury; tar, brine, olive oil, olives, rubber gloves and sea shells. Slight sweetness of runny toffee sauce, melted butter and then some salted liquorice. A touch of vanilla, and I mean a touch. What fruit there is are overripe, rotting and fizzy with bananas, guava, pineapple and their juice. Some more liquorice and a bit of fennel and pine arrive at the end.

Finish: Medium. A little hot actually, still savoury though with bags of olives, tar, liquorice candy (Pontefract cakes) and the rubber balloons. The fruit here is even less than on the palate and consists of banana and lime bread or cake and the smallest of kiwis. There is some vanilla and honey popping up here and there but it’s not a sweet rum. Very savoury on the finish.

Thoughts? It’s really, really good. I love Jamaican pot still rums, but I’m slightly disappointed. It’s not as “big” as I was hoping for, which is fine, things don’t have to be maximum ester all the time, but the Mezan 2000 blows it away for flavour and that was only 40% abv, at half the price. There is something missing here, some mid/lower ester rums from the likes of Monymusk are just “rounder” and more complete, so I don’t quite get where this sits.

Don’t get me wrong, I could drink this all day, it’s excellent in the scheme of things, I just don’t feel that I’m getting £75 out of it, which is what it cost me.