Skotlander Handcrafted Rum V 2,200 SØMIL. No your eyes do deceive you! I’m not reviewing the same rum as before. This is the 2,200 SØMIL release not the 1,400 SØMIL rum I reviewed last year. A SØMIL is a Nautical mile and this rum has been aged at sea.

Skotlander have been making waves (see what I did there) in the Danish rum scene. The rum scene in Denmark is actually pretty good especially in the capital Copenhagen. Famous rum names from Denmark include Johnny Drejer of Drecon.dk (the originator of the Hydrometer Tests), Mads Heitmann of Romhatten.dk, Henrik Kristofferson over at Rum Corner and Rum Festival regular Ingvar Thomsen. Not to mention a number of very enthusiastic Rum drinkers whom whilst not rum bloggers or “figureheads” are contributors in the various online rum forums etc.

Skotlander Handcrafted Rum V 2,200 SØMIL is produced from fermented Sugar Cane Molasses in small patches on Copper Pot Stills. It is 100% Pot Still rum. No additives,no chill filtration and no added colour.

The Nautical Miles come into play when the rum is aged as already mentioned. Aboard the Schooner Mira (built-in 1898) are four ex-PX Sherry casks. They are filled with the rum and then aged at sea. This is the second batch of rum to be aged in this way following the 1,400 SØMIL rum I reviewed last year. It took 20 months to travel the 2,200 SØMIL if you want a more meaningful “age” for this rum.

A bottle of this rum retails at €99 (around £90) it is a lower ABV than the previous batch – and a lower price. It comes in at 47% ABV the bottle size and design is as before. 50cl. I really like Skotlander’s modern, minimalist branding and I like the Skotlander “hog” emblem. It’s a very well presented product. My bottle is number 255 of 950. This will be the only “batch” of this release. The rear label (as pictured) gives a little more information on the back story.

In the glass Skotlander Handcrafted Rum V 2,200 SØMIL is a vibrant reddish/brown with orange flashes.

The nose is intense. There are nice sweet notes of young slightly aggressive alcohol mixed alongside some very fruity and rich Sherry like notes. Stoned fruits – plums, dark cherries and apricot. I’m also getting a nice smokiness to this and some well integrated but quite fresh smelling wood. A nice refreshing spicy note as well – citrus fruit and some white pepper.

Sipped the rum is initially quite sweet – bursts of dark sugar and raisins and a touch of chocolate. This gives way to a very nice zesty burst of lime and orange peel. I’m also getting a nice very rich Sherry/Port note. Almost tannic like red wine notes. As with the previous V 1,400 I am reminded very much of the Foursquare 2013. It has that same mix of relatively young Pot Still rum and a intense wine filled finish. Very different to 99% of rums you will find out there. All the better for it as well

The finish is very long-lasting and very enjoyable. A good weight of zesty spices and some really nicely balanced wood spices. I won’t say oak as it doesn’t feel “old” in anyway. It’s very fresh and vibrant.

The original Rum V was botled at a 61% ABV. I’ll be honest and I haven’t felt I’m losing any flavour from this offering being bottled at 47% ABV. Obviously I haven’t tried this at 61% ABV but I don’t feel the lesser ABV has detracted from my enjoyment of this rum.

Each sip adds more to the experience – it’s a very complex and very colourful young rum. It is surprisingly refined considering its youth. Yes it is quite “boozy” (much like the Foursquare 2013) but I find this very enjoyable. It’s a good example of something which is still quite “distillate driven” but has benefited from an unconventional maturation – in terms of being aged at sea. The PX Sherry Casks have also worked their magic here in maybe taming it a bit without muting it completely.

It’s great to see rum producers out there willing to try different things and come up with different ideas to produce their rums.

This is a really great rum!