Ultimatum Rum Guyana-Jamaica 6 Years Old Bowmore Finish. Ultimatum Rum is a rum brand from the Netherlands. It is released under The Little Distiller label, which in turn is owned by the Ultimate Whisky Company.

Which is under the guidance of the Van Wees father and son team Han and Maurice who own a very successful Whisky shop based in Amersfoort. As well as selling Independently bottled whisky they also bottle their own whiskies and rums, under the brands noted above.

I have reviewed a few Ultimatum bottlings in the past. A blended Caribbean Rum, a Fijian single cask and a bottling from the Sanctii Spiritus Distillery in Cuba.

I have enjoyed these bottlings. It is worth noting that as far as Independent bottlings go they are very competitively priced.

Ultimatum Rum Guyana-Jamaica 6 Years Old Bowmore Finish is a blend of rum from Guyana and Jamaica (who would have guessed?). Now whilst I have a lot of details about this bottling, I don’t have a lot of information about the actual rums. In fact I have none other than they are from Guyana and Jamaica. I may be able to offer some ideas in the review but we’ll wait and see. I haven’t contacted anyone about this to try and find out. So it will be interesting to try the rum with no pre-conceptions. Perhaps other than the fact I’m not all that keen on Peated Whisky…..

First up this is a run of just 172 bottles my bottle is number 93. The rums in the blend are 6 years old and were distilled in 2013. The maturation prior to being put into the Bowmore Sherry Hogshead, was an ex-bourbon cask. It was re-casked in September 2016 and was bottled in September 2019. So the “finish” is definitely more of a maturation. It has spent 3 years in ex-bourbon barrels and 3 years in a Bowmore Sherry Hogshead. Cask no 2178 to be exact.

Ultimatum Guyana-Jamaica 6 Years Old Bowmore Finish is un-chill filtered and un-coloured and bottled at 46% ABV (I can’t help but say that in a Ralfy voice in my head). It is currently still available in very limited quantities in a few European stores. I would suggest buying from Zeewijck, who have the best price of €29.50. This is a pretty good price nowadays for any aged rum. Let alone an “indie” bottling.

Presentation wise Ultimatum use very round, very “dumpy” bottles and synthetic cork stoppers. I quite like the presentation. Ultimatum have added a little flair to this one with a photo of a part of the Bowmore Sherry Hogshead.

So, I think I have said all I can about this rum, so we best get on with the tasting.

In the glass Ultimatum Rum Guyana-Jamaica 6 Years Old Bowmore Finish is a very light yellow colour a touch darker than straw, but not by much.

On the nose I am immediately overwhelmed by the whisky “finish”. Luckily it doesn’t smell hugely peaty to me but it does definitely smell more of whisky than rum.

Further nosing reveals a sweetness, underneath the smoky peat. A bit of Jamaican funk and maybe a bit of tarry aniseed led Port Mourant Demerara rum. I’m getting hints of raisin and a little banana. That said I am having to really dig deep for these aromas and some of it may be because I want them to be there…….

I’m not totally convinced, if I was asked to nose this blind I would recognise this as a rum. Unless, I had a feeling it was a “trick” of some sort. In fact I’m not convinced at all if I am being honest.  It smells to me kind of like a Peated Whisky mixed with a little Speyside. It’s savoury and “heavy” with a tarry note and lots of smoke and a fair bit of peat. It is not hugely unpleasant or particularly excessive but it’s not really what I look for in a spirit. It’s certainly not what I expect or perhaps want from a rum.

Sipped it is even more whisky like. It is very smoky and peaty with a lot of savoury notes. The rum tastes to me a little like the smell of scorched earth. Yes I know that makes little sense. It’s very dry and clean. It’s quite clinical and doesn’t really leave much behind in terms of flavour once the initial burst of smoke and peat dissipates. A few sips in and you do briefly get a nice warming toffee note on the entry. This, however quickly moves into smoke and peat. Too quickly to enjoy or savour.

A few sips in and I am getting a little hint of sweetness around the mid palate. Some very faint chewy toffee and maybe a tiny bit of banana. It’s a bit short overall, in its delivery and doesn’t leave all that much behind on the finish. It kind of just burns out. Leaving the taste of sooty ash and a kind of mineral/stone like quality in the mouth. Like sucking stones.

Overall as a drink it’s not totally off my radar. That said and as much as I am not a huge whisky fan, I would probably much rather go “all out” and have a glass of the Bowmore that was originally in this cask, than have a glass of this. It probably goes without saying that I would also have preferred this blend aged 6 years in just ex-bourbon.

These Scotch Whisky finished rums are interesting but I doubt this one would really win over a Scotch Whisky fan. Likewise, I’m not really sure what a rum fan would really get out of this.

It’s not bad and I’m pleased I tried it but I’m still not totally sure what to make of it! It’s a kind of non-binary rum.