Duncan Taylor are a Whisky and Rum bottler from Aberdeen, Scotland.  They have been selling their rums in distinctive flask style bottles for a number of years now.

Like another Independent bottler, Mezan they keep a very similar presentation for each rum.  With them releasing so many rums, some differing only by a cask number it can make deciding on what to buy quite tricky!

This particular rum was released in late 2016.  It is a Pot Still rum from the Long Pond Distillery in Jamaica.  It was distilled in 2000 and bottled after 15 years in 2015.

I will give you a little information regarding the Long Pond Distillery in Trelawny, Jamaica (which is the home town of Hampden Estate as well) for a more detailed read including a peek into the distillery itself please see the following great piece over at Cocktail Wonk.

In the 1940’s Seagram’s purchased the Long Pond Distillery and used the distillery to help found the Captain Morgan rum brand.  Long Pond is now once again under the control of the Jamaican Government under the guise of National Rums of Jamaica.  It is likely you may not be overly familiar with Long Pond rums as they have never had a notable brand which was universally known to come from Long Pond.

High ester Wedderburn style rums (which is what I believe the this rum is an example of) have come from both Long Pond Distillery and its very near neighbour Hampden Estate.  Examples of such rums can be found in Smith & Cross and Bristol Classic Rum released a “Vale Royal” style Jamaican rum a few years back.

Currently I understand the distillery is not operating but may re-open shortly.  Quite when (or if) it closed is quite hard to find online with several conflucting stories.  Any further solid information would be greatly appreciated if anyone out there has more information.
What information I have on this bottle is as follows.  It was distilled in June 2000 and bottled in February 2016.  It is honestly labelled as a 15 year old rum.  A bottle of which there are only 270 will set you back around £70.  It is bottled at 51.9%.

I was keen to try this rum as I heard good things about Pot Still rum from Long Pond and it seems that quite a lot of it is available from this year 2000.

In the glass the rum is a light golden brown.  Duncan Taylor do not add colorant nor do they chill filter their rums.  So it is likely there may be a bit cloudiness or sediment in the rum.  This should not put any enthusiast off.

The nose is rocket fuel.  I’m not really one for making OTT tasting or nosing notes but this is definitely rum turned up to 11.  It’s one of those rums you can smell at twenty paces.  It screams Pot Still to any Jamaican rum enthusiast.  It makes Smith & Cross seem like Appleton 12.

Varnish, paint stripper, lemon rind all jostle for position. Nosing deeper, it is filled with sweeter notes of dried fruits, black banana’s and even a touch of mint and pine.

Once it has settled down in the glass it becomes slightly less fiery and a little more muted.  The nose is still huge but its a bit more balanced once it has had a little time to settle down.  All the notes remain but in perhaps more harmony.  The oak ageing
begins to shine through giving it a bit more familiar rum feel rather than exhaust pipes.

At just over 50% ABV I should be able to cope with this but you may wish to add a little water to suit your palate.

Despite the fullness and the menace on the nose this is actually a much sweeter and a more refined sip than I had expected.  There is a minty refreshing note to this a little like toothpaste.  The sweetness takes the form of bananas and a little raisin, white grapes perhaps.  It’s a very distinctive rum. I’m reminded of the Pot Still rums from Fiji but with a sweeter edge, more approachable.

Don’t be fooled by the talk of sweetness.  It’s a big, menacing rum.  However it also carries along with it a lot of complex sweet notes.  A kind of sweet but only barely sour note that is kind of like bourbon but not quite.

As you can see it is quite a difficult rum to describe.  Very unique in terms of what I have tasted so far.  It has similarities with other rums but it seems to be kind of out on its own.

With such complexities in a rum the balance can often be a little out.  This really excels as a sipper (I would imagine it would make some mean mixed drinks as well).  There are no off putting notes.  I like it all, a lot.

This is easily one of the best Jamaican rums and one of the best rums overall I have ever tasted.  If you can find one of the remaining 269 bottles then I would definitely urge you to buy at least one!