Jack Tar Alpha and Omega Triple Cask Enmore 1988-1990. For the first time I will be reviewing more than one bottling in a single review. However, I am not going down the route of many reviewers, who put several rum reviews into one article. Although this “batch” of rum comes in two different bottles – Alpha and Omega it is the same blend of 3 rums in each bottle.

So whilst I am reviewing two different bottlings the liquid in each is the same. Jack Tar Alpha and Omega Triple Cask Enmore 1988-1990 is available as a set of two. So you get one Alpha bottling and one Omega bottling. There are only 101 Alpha bottles and 102 Omega bottles (not sure how that will work as they sold as a pair?).

In total the three casks used in the blend produced 503 bottles. It is noted on the rear label that 300 bottles are being held by Jack Tar Assets. So presumably they will be released at a later date or have been returned to a barrel for further ageing. In truth I don’t know the answer to this.

The three casks used to produce this Enmore blend are as follows

Cask No 42 distilled at Enmore Distillery in 1988 cask strength 51.2% ABV

Cask No 40 distilled at Enmore Distillery in 1990 cask strength 54.8% ABV

Cask No 55 distilled at Enmore Distillery in 1990 cask strength 53.3% ABV

For clarity the still which produced these three casks of rum was the EHP (Edward Henry Porter, an early owner of the Enmore Estate) Continuous Coffey Still – the only remaining working wooden Coffey Still in the world. The still is often referred to as “Enmore” as that was its original home at the Enmore Estate. Since the closure of Enmore Estate around 1993/94 the still has been housed at Uitvlugt Estate and is now at Demerara Distillers Limited (Diamond Distillery).

Alongside the Port Mourant and Versailles stills the EHP makes up Demerara Distillers Limited (DDL) three “Heritage Stills”.

As mentioned Alpha and Omega come as two piece set and retail at €700 directly from the Jack Tar website. Along with the bottles, you also receive a wooden stamp, a quote card and a material pouch with an Α and Ω overlapping as inseparable logotypes.

However I have also noticed that Excellence Rhum have an allocation of the bottlings available singularly priced at €370. So you do have a choice of picking up just one of the bottlings should price be an issue.

Which to be fair it might be as these rare rums are unsurprisingly not cheap. Being distilled at the original location of the still at a now defunct distillery is also of interest to the collector/enthusiast.

In terms of ageing Jack Tar Alpha and Omega Triple Cask Enmore 1988-1990 has been both tropically and continentally aged in ex-bourbon barrels. There are no finishes or secondary maturations in different casks with this particular bottling. As trendy as that has become of late.

Once the rum was “blended” the overall ABV clocks in at 51.6% ABV cask strength. By way of an explanation of “Alpha and Omega” the Jack Tar website offers us the following

“We always care about an extraordinary story that accompanies to the liquid you are tasting. This time, we usher to look at a life from a different perspective. Let Alpha and Omega be our look through the life as it is – with all our hopes, uncertainties, successes and failures. Our days are often constant like “π”. Some of them are surprising like “Δ”. They sum up “Σ” to a beautiful book of life. Many times we begin “A” new chapter with fear. Many times we are hurt. Will we win? Will we be happy and balanced? Let the Moirae guide us. Let them show us the path until our “Ω” comes, and beyond.”

 

I’m probably best off not commenting on this – so I think we’ll move swiftly onto the contents of the bottle and see if my “Ω” comes………..

In the glass Jack Tar Alpha and Omega Triple Cask Enmore 1988-1990 is a vivid golden/dark brown with a reddish orange hue.

The nose is rich and deep. Tarry almost. Medicinal certainly with a lot of concentrated raisin and sultana. There is also a slightly tannic briny/red wine kind of note as well. It’s quite a big nose in that you can smell it without having to get your nose right into the glass.

It’s clearly a well aged rum as you would expect. I’m pleased to report it hasn’t suffered from the long ageing and become overly woody. At least not on the nose anyway.

Rather than a lot of oak I am getting spicy notes of cinnamon, all spice and something slightly herbal. It’s quite complex and interesting.

Sipped the rum is less sweet than the nose suggested. Again its not particularly dry or woody. It has a nice spicy introduction and the flavours again are concentrated. Stoned fruits and raisins but its not overly sweet. Again there is a slightly tannic, drier note running over the top of the rum which gives it more of a savoury note.

The rum as mentioned already isn’t dry nor woody nor is it overly sweet. It has a slightly musty flavour to it especially on the mid palate.

The long finish is perhaps the spiciest and most aggressive part of this rum but even this is well balanced and very enjoyable.

I’ve sipped this at the cask strength 51.6% and I really don’t think this needs any water. It’s a good example of a long aged Demerara from the EHP heritage still. You can tell it has had some continental ageing (I would imagine a fair portion) but this has perhaps prevented the rum becoming over oaked or tasting “old”. It’s still quite fresh tasting considering how old it is.

It’s dangerously drinkable and slips down quite easily.