I bit the bullet and bought a $90 bottle of rum (two actually, but the other hasn't been opened). This is the first real independently bottled rum (though perhaps Scarlet Ibis and S&C count?) in my collection.
16 years old, from a "Versailles" pot still at Diamond, according to Berry Bros. What's Enmore about it? Who knows. Here's my half-assed review, given that I'm not great at picking apart flavors and smells:
Nose: bitter almond/kirsch notes, slight acetone/paint thinner type aromas down low, extremely faint almost strawberry-ish, bits of heathery scent reminiscent of highland malts. Initially varnished wood, then unvarnished, aged wood more apparent as it airs out. Notes of freshly carved pumpkin hit as well.
Taste: Initially fruity, but balanced. Indeterminate fruits, then pineapple on the finish, possibly passion fruit, balanced with black pepper and smoke (not peaty smoke); some pot-still esters and pervasive molasses tang/funk without the sweetness. in the same vein, a quick flash of Middle Eastern sugar syrup (the kind used for baklava), but again without being sweet. As in the nose, the wood also asserts itself in the taste after a few minutes.
General remarks:
Well, there's no doubting this is rum (as opposed to whisky), but 16 honest years in oak really have a lot of the same effect. Although I'm sure the sugar levels are 0g/L, it is marginally less dry than an unsherried single malt. It has a lot in common with MGXO and Seale's 10, but more robust, presumably due to it being 100% pot distillate. It's more powerful than the Bajans without arriving at the do-your-head-in dundery funk of a Smith & Cross or a Wray & Nephew. (Next up is the 10 year old Jamaican BBR rum....)
This is the first pour from the bottle, I'm sure it will change. I will do a side by side with ED15 later, but from what I remember of the latter, there is no comparison. From the last time I had some, the ED15 points in the direction of what this BBR rum offers, but doesn't reach it.
Berry Brothers & Rudd 16 Year Old Enmore Rum
- Capn Jimbo
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