Benrinnes 15 Year (Blackadder Raw Cask)

 

Benrinnes is a distillery from whom I've had very little. According to my records, in fact, I've only had a single bottle - from Single Cask Nation, no less - and I loved it. This one, a 15 year old that's finished in rum casks from Barbados, caught my eye immediately because of my lack of experience with the spirit. 

Ardmore 9 Year (SMWS 66.228 "Damp Blue Peat Smoke")

 

I almost never compare one independent bottler against another, but as a self-confessed Ardmore aficionado, I feel empowered to note: this is an excellent bottle from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society ("SMWS") that stacks up against any other independent of Ardmore I've had. 

Clairin Sonson 2018 (unaged rhum from Cabaret in Haiti)

When I was 13, a Haitian/Salvadorean family moved in next door to me, and they had a son my age who I got along with amazingly from day one. Now, 30 years later, our two families are one family, and consequentially I love all things Haitian - the music, the culture, and - of course - the rum. 

Varela Hermanos 16 Year Rum (SMWS R9.11 "Zipwire")

 

I can't say I've ever had any Panamanian rum before this 16 year bottle from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society ("SMWS"). But their single cask rums have been uniformly excellent, so I immediately took a chance. Spoiler alert: I was well rewarded, this is fantastic. 

Guyanese Rum (Demerara Distillers Ltd.; SMWS R2.19 "Rumalicious")

 

The last rum from Guyana I had was also a single cask offering from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society ("SMWS"), which occasionally has other spirits on offer, like gin or rum or rye or Armagnac. 

This is an 18 year old rum, which is easily the oldest I've ever had, from Demerara Distillers Ltd., which continues to use 200+ year old wooden stills to make their rum. It's bottled at 60.9% ABV, which is astonishing for 18 years in the barrel in, presumably, a tropical climate. 

Worthy Park 7 Year Rum (SMWS R11.14 "Hot Shots")

 The Scotch Malt Whisky Society ("SMWS") has, for me, a pretty good track record of releasing wild, wild, wild rums. So far the ones I've had have been just completely insane - reeking of motor oil, fresh paint, gasoline, rotten fruit, wet dirt, you name it. So when I saw this Worthy Park 7 year aged rum come up - finished in a peated whisky barrel, and bottled at 67.5% ABV, no less! - I jumped all over it. 

Rhosdhu 13 year grain whisky (SMWS G15.11 "Worlds Collide")

 The third of six drams served at the April outturn tasting for the Scotch Malt Whisky Society ("SMWS") at the Jack Rose Saloon in Adams Morgan, Washington DC. At these events, you sit at a small table and one by one make guesses about the six scotches in front of you: age, type of cask, which distillery (multiple choice, out of five provided), along with a field to write notes. 

Worthy Park 7 Year Jamaican Rum (SMWS R11.13 "Dunder Heid!")

 Another side jaunt into the world of interesting rums! My last bottle, a fascinating and challenging bottle from Guyana, was a real stunner. So I took a chance on this seven year bottling from Worthy Park - made in a pot still, aged 7 years in a second fill barrel (I think the aging occurs in England). 

This is nicknamed "Dunder Heid!" which refers to dunder, a remnant of rum distilling that is extremely funky and high in esters, and is left at the bottom of the boiler - much like sour mash, with bourbon. So this is going to be super super funky. 

Guyanese rum (SWMS R2.17 "Staggering Bravado")

 

From time to time I explore spirits other than Scotch whisky. It's good to broaden your palate, try new things, see what else is out there - and when you come back, it gives you a renewed appreciation for old favorites, and sometimes a new slant on flavor. 

I recently had a fantastic (and extremely funky) overproof Jamaican rum (Hampden Estates) from Smith and Cross, a London bottler, and decided to try again with a type of rum I've never had - Guyanese rum made on the east bank of Demerara river in the capital of Georgetown.

Smith and Cross Traditional Jamaica Rum

Very rarely do I review a non-Scotch spirit on this blog - after all, it's called Let's Drink Scotch - but once in a blue moon I find something so outstanding and noteworthy, I have to discuss it. The last time, I think, was Yellow Spot Irish whisky (and god, that was good). This time, it's Smith and Cross Traditional Jamaica Rum. It's the best rum I've ever had. 

Glenlivet Caribbean Reserve (NAS)

 

Another nod of thanks to Rob Martin for supplying me with this sample of the new Glenlivet Caribbean Reserve, the no-age-statement rum-cask-finished variant of Glenlivet. Bottled at 40% (c'mon Glenlivet!), probably colored, probably chill filtered. I am not a giant fan of rum finished whiskies, but I'm willing to give this a fair shake. Let's see how it does. 

Ardbeg Drum (NAS)

The first of the limited bottlings that I've reviewed, although I've had most of them - I'm long overdue! This is the 2019 release for Ardbeg Day, and is finished in former rum casks (supposedly from Demerera rum, of El Dorado fame). Bottled at 46% and - as usual - uncolored and non-chill-filtered. What does Ardbeg look like through a rum filter?