Velier National Rums of Jamaica Ltd Long Pond TECC 2007. I’ve got all four of these Jamaican Rums to review, from the series issued last year by Velier. I am starting with this bottling because it is the youngest. So we’ll do them in “age order” and see how we get on.

These rums were undoubtedly another highlight of 2018, along with the official Hampden releases and yet more excellent Jamaican rum from the likes of Worthy Park and Appleton Estate. 2018 was a very good year for Jamaican rum.

Now these rums, I would class as rums for geeks. They are not the type of rums, like say Appleton Estate 12 Year Old or Worthy Park Single Estate Reserve that are going to help Jamaican rum go “mainstream”. They are specific marques of rum which highlight what goes into rum blends rather than rums which were designed to be sold “as is”.

However, demand for this kind of rum has risen amongst rum geeks over the past few years, so it was perhaps inevitable that Luca Gargano would get around to releasing some of his stocks of Jamaican rum.

Velier National Rums of Jamaica Ltd Long Pond TECC 2007 it is the youngest in the series at 11 years of tropical ageing. It is noted as being Continental Flavoured with a hefty 1500g/hlpa of esters. It’s pretty much as funky as things get. There has been little agreement on what the TECC might actually stand for.

This is not a single cask release it is a release of 11 barrels which have yielded 3325 bottles. It has been bottled at 62.5% ABV. The rum is a 100% Pot Still rum not a blend of pot/column.

In the UK a bottle will set you back around £160. These releases haven’t sold out as quickly as the Velier Foursquare’s or indeed Velier’s last few Demerara rums. So should you like the sound of this rum, you will be able to find a bottle for sale on the retail market. Rather than have to go to auction or pay secondary prices.

There are another 3 National Rums of Jamaica in this series. All offering different marques of rum. I’ll make sure those reviews appear soon.

In the glass this is a dark brown rum with a reddish hue around the ages. It is noticeably darker than many continental aged Long Ponds or Hampdens.

The nose is pretty pungent and can be nosed at ten paces. Heavy on the varnish and shoe polish on the initial nosing. Further nosings reveal a lot more of the fruitier “funky” elements of this rum. Pineapple and Apple juice, some banana even hints of coconut and a slight note of chocolate raisin.

It’s rich and complex. Bursting with flavour and some really well-defined notes are shining through. Along with some pickle juice. Or to be more precise Pickled Onion Monster Munch (or standard crisps if you prefer), a kind of “marmite” like love/hate aroma of vinegar and sweet silverskin onions.

Just beneath this vinegary aroma, you will detect some warming notes of oak and woody spice. This is warming up to by my kind of rum for sure.

Sipped at the full ABV of 62.5%, I’m expecting this to be quite excessive and maybe a bit too “tart” for me to fully appreciate.

Wow! I’m not far off. The pickle juice comes to the fore immediately, giving your tongue and taste buds a really mouth-watering sensation. It’s quite a dominant note and it takes a couple of further sips to reveal some of the other notes in this rum.

The notes of varnish on the nose reveal themselves more on the mid palate and mingle with the rich woody oak spices. This gives a bit more balance to the profile. I’m getting a very slight hark back to Plantation’s Xaymaca. Is there a slightly cognac like note lurking? Maybe.

This is a very flavourful rum with a lot going on. Everything on the nose comes through onto the palate. I really like the Long Pond rums more so than their Hampden DOK counterparts. These seem fruitier and less harsh. The tropical ageing has also added an extra layer of complexity and richness to the rum, integrating nicely with the oak.

Finish wise it is honestly just really a continuation of the mid palate. It’s rich and warming full of fruit and that pickle juice. If you are adverse to vinegar you definitely should avoid this. You will be tasting this one for hours…….long, warming and all just a little bit OTT.

It’s a little bit off kilter and it’s different enough, as far as Jamaican rums go to be worth a try. I would say though as a word of warning the vinegar note does throw the balance out. I would fully understand someone who truly hated this rum.

But I don’t. It hasn’t knocked my Duncan Taylor Long Pond 2000 of its perch but it’s not that far behind. I would certainly enjoy this blended with something a little more forgiving like a Vale Royal.

Good stuff but not quite great.