Was thinking about getting a couple bottles but mostly looking at: Worthy Park Select or Single Estate Reserve, El Dorado single barrel blend, that single cask TCRL Guyana, ECS Isonomy and the Flag Series Guyana (I hear it’s not the best tasting but it’s also a old vintage Guyana…)

Haven’t seen or heard much about the rhumb runner but I know Fernandes is kind of hard to find, whil rivers and l’esprit I’m not sure how often I’d actually be drinking those. Planteray ehhhh but it’s a store pick and the pussers 15 was first time seeing one in the wild…

My longest rum journey
First let me introduce y’all to the haul.
I have here.
2 bottles of Raising Glasses x Nobilis – Papilio Hampden CH 6 Year
2 bottles of Dunder Pressure rum et al. Queen’s Share from the queen, Dr. Robyn Smith
1 bottle of Foursquare Exceptional Cask Selection Mark XXI – 2010
1 bottle of Down Island – Jamaica – Hampden Estate – 3 yo
This is courtesy of the most magical store; for anything, you can go for Norfolk Wine and Spirits.

The story, if you are interested.
I live in NYC, and Norfolk Wine and Spirits is located in Norfolk, Massachusetts. I called and asked about the Raising Glasses x Nobilis – Papilio Hampden CH 6 Year, and they said they had it in stock. I purchased it without hesitation, not knowing how to get to Massachusetts. I started searching around and found a round-trip ticket with a bus, 4 hours going and 4 hours coming back. I was excited to plan my trip. Massachusetts is not like NYC, and I had to figure that out the hard way with their 2-hour-apart trains, which makes it almost impossible to do anything. I made it in time, taking the train, and then an Uber. When I went inside, it felt like a candy store. They had some of the most amazing and rare bottles of all spirits in there. I ran to the rum section, and the store clerk who I spoke to on the phone, Prakeet, came up, and we started chatting. He is very knowledgeable and can help you literally find anything. I already knew what I wanted, but having Prakeet just be chill was awesome. Now after the purchase I wrapped each bottle in a t-shirt, took that 2-hour-apart train ride back, and then the bus, and here I am home chilling looking at them. I was able to do this whole trip in one day from 5:15am to 11:20pm. Many of you will say you could’ve driven, but let me ask you this: Who wants to drive for 4 hours back and forth? I'm so tired I'm cracking these babies this Saturday. And that concludes my rum voyage.

I have both madagascar bourbon and tahitean vanilla and want to make 2 separate extracts. For the full bourbon vanilla aroma I think I want to go the rum Route.

I've seen people recommend Kirk&Sweeney but wanted to brainstorm a little more.

I'm specifically interested in how you think the Havana Especial would fit, I can get it for very cheap currently (10€). Also Diplomatico is available at a good price (20€) while K&S clocks in on 40-50€.

I thought asking here is Probably more insightful than asking in a vanilla forum, since the popular choices seem to be K&S or Appleton Sig.

Currently a big fan of Appleton 12, El Darado 12 and Probitas. I mainly just sip neat. I do make a Mai Thai’s with Appleton 12 or a daiquiri with Probitas.

If you could only choose one Jamaican Rum to have for the rest of your life what would it be ?

Good lord.

Fresh-pressed cane juice, coffee brewed in clay pots, flavoured with unprocessed sugar and spices. I had it on a big rock and sipped it - absolutely gorgeous.

Notes of vanilla peak out from arrogant cinnamon and brown sugar that balance the bitter coffee and briney aguardiente. Might try a heavy cream floater on my next glass just to see what happens.

Turned 18 back in January so I have been trying some different drinks when out, went to Barbados with family and did some rum tours, found my love for rum and thought I’d show my collection from Barbados

Someone recently posted their Pussers coffee mug. I thought I would share what I picked up at a thrift shop a while back. A salt and pepper shaker and I have no idea what the third one is unless its for water or cream.

Tasted semi-blind (I had organized the flight but my partner poured them in another room)

Savanna Agricole 7 yr 2002 cognac F111 (46%)
N: sweet cream and vanilla, sweet fruit (I can detect mango, peach, orange, even a malt-like apple, but none stand out strongly), the tiniest bit of rubber or diesel. That last evolves (briefly) into a smoky burned brett sort of thing which was an off flavor when it turned up in my wild ale homebrews, but isn’t off in this context
P: ah, sugarcane, in an aggressive way that wasn’t not at all suggested by the nose. Cane syrup without the sweetness almost. All that fruit from the nose is greatly diminished in the mouth but we do get some apricot tea, some concrete minerality, autumn in the city. And the lovely cane juice is all over the finish
85

Ferroni Collection Signature Luc Litschgi Ile Maurice (45%)
N: a much drier and darker wood, if the Savanna was malt-adjacent this is decidedly bourbon-adjacent. Unlit firewood and old books, little fruit to be found. With air less one dimensional with some soggy leaves and even petrichor
P: leans even more into that soggy leaf pile, petrichor, wet asphalt character. Still an affinity with dry, woody old bourbon. Old Dickel, specifically. I like the finish, which is quite mineral, though only medium-long. Still getting zero fruit here. It’s one dimensional, but not bad for all that
82

Belle Vue 2005 New Grove Ile Maurice (45%)
N: a malt, a bourbon, and finally a rum…or maybe just a fruity first fill sherry malt. (Actually, make that a sherried bourbon, because this is more IGP or Dickel than barley—anyone remember those Belle Meade wine treatments?) But seriously, here we have some signs of tropical aging in both wood and fruit, and some very tame industrial esters.
P: some caramel, some woody tea tannins, quite a bit of apricot along with some red-purple berry. 
82

Hey all, I'm a big rum drinker (in that it's my go to for a post work drink or three). However, I wont pretend that I've experimented with too many different rums. I typically keep a bottle of appleton 12 around or diplomatico for a (slightly) cheaper option.

I'm having a wedding soon and my fiance and I are doing his and hers cocktails. We thought it'd be fitting, and funny, to put a rum punch on the menu, except the kicker is that it's just a glass of rum on the rocks. I was hoping to get some suggestions for affordable yet quality easy sippers. I'd love to have some cool stuff, and a lot of my guests work in hospitality, so I know they'd be willing to try something new too.

Thanks in advance, please don't roast me too hard for the diplomatico. I like what I like haha. Also, I'm not even remotely picky when it comes to alcohol - any suggestion would be very much appreciated. Cheers

I’m making drinks for a friend’s party and we are doing a tiki theme .. it’s a group that’s into craft cocktails and would enjoy something unique. Looking for your suggestions and recommendations on your favorites!

Got into rum a couple months ago so I decided to do a little tasting line up for the first time.

It’s a mix of some rums I’ve collected and some that I sell with my business.

First time trying Hampden 1753 so I’m looking forward to this line up later tonight!

What rums would you think I like / should add to this line up in the future let me know.

Tasted blind (poured and picture taken by my partner)

Savanna 12 yr 2011 Compagnie des Indes (56.8%)
N: light, caramelly oak and bright, juicy fruit—mostly tart cherry but some very mildly estery pineapple and green notes too. Returning after air it’s weirder, more green and yellow. A hint of volatility and even rotten banana
P: opens where the nose ended up: rotten yellow fruit, salad greens, even eucalyptus now. And also the lighter, pinker strawberry-cherry fruit. The nose already had the least oak of the flight and there is, if anything, less in the palate (but we’re speaking in relative terms, this still tastes like a decade or so in oak). Not much heat either. I wouldn’t guess this is technically high ester but it’s weird enough to be really fun, and pretty good
85

Isautier 13 year 2009 La Cour Foundations (59%)
N: thin mints, weed brownies, sous bois, wood that is wet and just starting to rot, but for all that it’s kinda sweet and cocoa-forward. This is throwing me because the palate did not follow the nose to begin with and returning with air and a few drops of water I get a very different profile, with lactic yellow fruit, underripe mango maybe
P: well, maybe not so sweet! Actually this is very much like an Amontillado sherry profile, a big (but not super roasty) peanut note and a touch of soapy salinity, but also a decaying herbs thing that’s almost Fernet. And then finishes on, if not exactly bitter then at least bittersweet cocoa. Water brings some fruit back in. Something of a shapeshifter, this, but never a shape I couldn’t get along with
83

Savanna 2006 Rum Nation Traditionnel Sherry Finish (57.65%)
N: okay so now we’ve got bitter greens, big time raw Brussels sprouts, shaved Brussels in a fruity vinaigrette, pretty strong oak in a cherrywood vein, some red-brown fruit
P: pretty oaky, moderately tannic, some rye-ish spice that flirts with red fruit, but again fresh bitter greens and mint, and here the freshness persist into the finish, which is longer than the first two. With water, more warm spice, but also just spicier greens, we’ve got mustard in the salad now and I’m not complaining
84

Isautier 14 yr Antoinette Rhum Vieux (55%)
N: are my nostrils lazy tonight or do we have thin mints again? More classically oaky, and alcohol fumes more than esters. Mild and pleasant new rubber or classroom eraser. With air, cinnamon-mint toothpaste (is this a sugarcane distillate?)
P: probably the sweetest of the flight, which is to say  mildly sweet, with cinnamon and mint and the warm familiarity of teenaged years spent in active but not aggressive oak. For sure the least distinctive of these, but nice enough
82

I understand that each year has different taste. I’ve had 2005 and still regret not buying more than 1 bottle at that time because I absolutely loved it. Now the very few bottles remaining here and there are out of price.

Fast forward to today, I can stock up on 2013 Single Vintage for usd100$/bottle what should I do?…

In 2019, Foursquare acquired 10 casks from the cognac producer Camus specifically from its "Caribbean Expedition" program. A year later, the casks were emptied, and the cognac was sent to France for bottling. The casks were then refilled with a 2008 rum that had already aged for 12 years in ex-bourbon barrels, and it remained in those casks for another two years.

The rum from those casks was blended with another 14-year-old rum that had spent 5 years in ex-bourbon casks and 9 years in ex-Cognac casks. As is typical for this series of rums, the entire aging, blending, and bottling process is handled in Barbados by the Foursquare distillery. It is bottled at 61% ABV.

Made by: Foursquare Distillery
Name of the rum: Exceptional Cask Series XXII Touchstone
Brand: Foursquare
Origin: Barbados
Age: 14 years

Nose
Despite its high alcohol content, the Touchstone does not have an alcohol-heavy nose. This allows for the appreciation of complex, varied aromas, including intense wood notes from ex-bourbon cask aging, mild vanilla, classic American pound cake, plums, and grated orange zest.

Palate
On the palate, the ex-bourbon influence is also clear, along with a more direct rum flavor than I expected; there are many woody nuances, but also vanilla, pepper, orange peel, and orange marmalade, with a sensation that is less sweet than anticipated. After a few seconds, I do pick up additional notes of peach and tart pineapple, followed finally by red apple and citrus fruits.

Retrohale/Finish
The finish features various woody nuances not as complex as other Foursquare ECS experiences, but still interesting.

Rating
9 on the t8ke

Conclusion
My only prior experience with a rum aged in Cognac casks is with Abuelo XV Napoleon, so I inevitably think of it when tasting this one. Although they are considerably different and Foursquare is simply in a league of its own with its ECS releases, this isn't the best one in the series I’ve tried. The thing is, whenever I taste an ECS, I inevitably categorize it alongside the others in the series rather than necessarily comparing it to other rums.

I usually post in Spanish on my networks, so if this review seems translated, it's because it is.

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I'm stuck a sucker for oddities, just can't resist...😓😂🤷‍♂️

I want to get my first R.L. Seale but I'm seeing a lot of confusion.

Some context, I am in the US and my option is Total wine. I see the 10yo 43% at $37 vs the 12yo 46% at $57.

Scouring the reviews. I hear a lot of good things for the 10 and some even prefer it, but then it seems like they're talking about the 10yo 46%? (Which is not one of my options) Are the high marks for the 43% version too?

And is the 12 46% closer to the 10 46%? I'm not sure which is a better comparison and if I can only get one which one it would be. I prefer the $37 one IF the 43% has the good reputation I am hearing about for the 10, but I'm not sure if the US version or Total wine version (43%) is the one that is getting high marks?

Sorry that probably sounds confusing.

Tl;dr - what is the difference between these three bottles and which would you recommend.

Found on an old mug at my parents house.

Hey all,

I'm currently in Martinique and stumbled on this bottle in a small, out-of-the-way shop (not even the distillery boutique itself). It's a Depaz labeled:

Rhum Vieux Agricole Hors d'Âge

"Double Cask"

Âge 8 ans

Millésime 2015

59.2% vol

70cl

Numbered 086/260

Stamped "Private Cask — Exclusivité Boutique Depaz"

I've dug around a bit and I can find other Depaz "Private Cask" editions (the 57° 2015 one, an 11-year 2010 fût n°102, etc.), but nothing matching this exact spec — the 59.2%, the "Double Cask" wording, or the /260 numbering. It's like it doesn't exist anywhere outside this one shop.

Anyone in the agricole/AOC world come across this specific bottling before? Curious if it's a genuine tiny boutique-only run, or if I'm just bad at searching. Any info on the cask combo (looks like it might be ex-bourbon + ex-cognac based on other Depaz "double cask" releases I've read about) would be appreciated too.

Thanks!

0.75oz 2017 HGML

0.75oz Papilio C<>H

0.5oz DOK

0.75oz JM cane syrup

1oz lime

DELIGHTFUL. A noble use of noble rums