S.B.S – The Single Barrel Selection Trinidad 2008. This is the latest in the 2019 series of single cask bottlings by our Danish Friends 1423.dk. Availability of these rums has increased recently as they being imported into the UK by Skylark Spirits and are readily available on Amazon and now Master of Malt.

As you will know, if you have clicked the Master of Malt link above these rums retail at around the £100 mark in the UK. I will focus now on the exact details of this Trinidad 2008 bottling.

As the title suggest all the S.B.S line up are from single casks, so they are extremely limited. For this Trinidad 2008 there are/were 337 bottles released from that single cask. Bottled at “cask strength” of 57% ABV. This is a rum from Trinidad Distillers Limited or Angostura if you want their more recognisable “brand” name. It was produced on a column still and finished for an unknown period in a Madeira cask. It was bottled in 2018.

The still this rum was produced on is a Continuous Multi Column still which was commissioned and built for Trinidad Distillers in the 1940’s. So it is a bit of a heritage still to use a term coined by DDL.

Presentation is nice and clean with a white and baby/light blue colour scheme. Information is readily available on the label which also denotes that this is non chill filtered. Not something which is mentioned much in rum – more so in whisky. You get a nice cut out card sleeve to house your stubby bottle of rum in. A cork enclosure is to be expected at £100 per bottle and is duly delivered.

Besides this information I cannot think of anything really to add about this rum. I’m sure we all know about Angostura. For those who aren’t familiar with their style they produce a light and easy-going kind of rum. A lot of their rum is sold in bulk and can be found in supermarket and entry-level blends.

I’ll be honest with you I find Angostura to be one of the most boring rum producers out there. There light, adultered sugary style of sweet rum does little for me and I have found little variation in their rums. In fact the younger less adultered 5 and 7-year-old I have found to be better than the likes of their No1 cask editions or the sickly sweet 1787.

But I’m always keen to try something. This rum has come up “clean” on the Hydrometer test so I am hopeful that the Madeira cask finish might lift it up a little and give me an enjoyable glass of rum.

The nose is quite tannic with a slight not of sulphur. It’s rich and aggressive at the same time. I’m quite pleased to find it isn’t all sweet and floral like say 1919 from Angostura. Notes of raisin and a touch of walnut or mixed nuts appear. Shell on peanuts and some sweet chewy toffee. Highland Toffee for those in the UK.

The Madeira influence is there but it doesn’t mask the rum. Instead it gives it an extra layer. A little bit of oomph that I feel is much-needed with TDL rums.

Sipped it’s very sweet on the initial arrival, with big fruity notes of raisins and red grapes mixed with some more bitter tannic red wine notes. As it develops on the mid palate it becomes less sweet and becomes more dry and wine like. The spices on the mid palate mingle with the tart notes of red wine. These nestle alongside nutmeg and cinnamon.

It’s a surprisingly dry rum with a good length on the finish. Mixed dried fruits and Christmas cake on the finish with an almost lemon like tartness towards the end. This leads to a very dry but fruity end note. It’s rich and warming but it’s quite aggressive at the same time.

Not a typical Trini style rum. It falls between the two more familiar styles of the lighter Angostura rum and the heavier historic Caroni style. It’s definitely a rum for the curious to try.

If you are fond of Madeira or a drier style of rum with a bit of fruitiness then this might be for you. I don’t think the Madeira has totally masked the rum but it does have quite a big influence on what was likely quite a gentle spirit to begin with. From the nose I though the sulphur like notes might have taken over but they hung back on the sip.

A very pleasant surprise. Definitely a bit more meaty than your standard TDL fare.