Nobilis #23 Barbados Foursquare 65.4%.
Distilled in 2006. 16 years gammel rom. The rum is made from molasses, is both pot still and column distilled. It is first aged 8 years tropical and then 8 years continental. It is a single cask, bottled at cask strength in 238 bottles.
Color: Light reddish-brown amber.
Aroma: The easiest thing to say is that this rum smells like Foursquare. A restrained mix of potent pot still and a softer column distillate. The pot still component stands out on the nose with its acidity and citrus. The soft column component rounds off the edges nicely and the cask adds a warm and relatively young cask character that doesn't take up too much space on the nose. There are zesty notes of citrus, cantaloupe, honeydew melon, spice, leather polish and tobacco.
Taste: Wow. A competent, complex and powerful flavor impression. Flavorful, well-composed and elegant. Notes of citrus, cloves, sweet pipe tobacco, leather polish and dark spices. It tastes really good.
Conclusion: There's not a finger to point at Foursquare. But unfortunately, it often gets a bit boring and a bit too monotonous (for me) if watered down too much. I definitely like it best when Barbados/Foursquare is in the mid to high 60s percentage-wise. Only then do I think the distillate comes into its own. This one definitely does. It's super crisp and beautifully cut. A great Foursquare.
Nobilis #24 Guyana Diamond 52.7%.
Distilled in July 2002. 20 years gammel rom. The rum is made from molasses and is distilled on a French Savalle Still (Uitvlugt) "UDS". It has first been aged almost 2 years tropically and then over 18 years continental. It is a single cask, bottled at cask strength in 196 bottles.
Color: Warm cereal yellow.
Aroma: Black wine gum, peach, honeydew melon, licorice, spices and light citrus.
Flavor: I get notes of citrus, tart green apples, hazelnuts, licorice and spices. A nice spicy mix of fruit, spices and delicious acidity.
Conclusion: It's not often you see a French Savalle Still (Uitvlugt) and this one is an incredibly good acquaintance. A really elegant adult rum. Very well composed. A light and delicious distillate. But still very flavorful.
Nobilis #25 Jamaica Clarendon 68.4%.
Distilled in 2010. 11 years gammel rom. The rum is made from molasses and is distilled on a pot still. It has first aged 8 years tropical and then 2 years continental. It is a single cask, bottled at cask strength in 251 bottles.
Color: Light chestnut.
Aroma: Overripe tropical fruit, pineapple, banana, dried apricot, spices, citrus, lacquer and a little glue.
Flavor: An insistently good glass. Heavy without being overpowering. I taste ripe tropical fruit, especially banana and pineapple, also citrus, grape, lacquer and dark spices.
Conclusion: As Nobilis Rum writes in their description "home island of high ester rums". So here we are in Jamaica and it's fruit, funk, party and colors. It's a spicy and characterful Clarendon. Hardly as fruity as e.g. Hampden is known for. Hampden is known for. But still a very competent rum with lots of body and charisma.
FUN FACT:
The rum is Clarendon/Monymusk second highest estermark MMW Monymusk Wedderburn. It is light + heavy fermentation. No dunder is used in the fermentation. Ester count is 290-300 gr./hlpa.
In Jamaica, the rum was aged at full distillation strength at approx. 87% ABV. After 8 years, the angels had taken their share. So the rum had come down to about 85% ABV. The rum was poured into plastic barrels and shipped to the Netherlands with the original casks next to it. In the Netherlands, the rum is watered down to 70% and poured back into the original barrels where the rum has already been for 8 years. The rum is then shipped to England, which has some rules that say that you are not allowed to transport alcohol above 70% ABV in wooden barrels. And now 251 lovely bottles of 68.4% have come out of it.
