My whisky buddy Nils keeps releasing some nice casks of high end, and in this case high ABV, booze. Well, actually, Best of Wines in Bussum is, but he is more or less in charge of the spirits there.

This surprise sample came in the mail last week and it got me curious. I don’t think I’ve had rum from Belize before, and 66.6% ABV is not something to scoff at either.

I have no idea about Belize rum, or the distillery, so let’s get right to the tasting notes, shall we?

Sniff:
On the nose I get overripe mangos at first. The very sweet, almost cloying, and yeasty fruit scent. As with most of these high end rums, if you take a big whiff of it, you get some slightly chemical notes. Slightly plastic like even. After that there’s charcoal and honey, with slightly waxy honeycomb and beeswax.

Sip:
It’s very sharp on the arrival, but that’s not surprising at all! A lot of alcohol heat of course, but it’s so much that my mouth start feeling numb after a few seconds. That doesn’t last very long and there a lot of heat coming back after half a minute or so. It’s sweet with brown sugar and burnt caramel. Honey and fruit. The sweetness doesn’t feel artificial, which sometimes happens with rums.

Swallow:
The finish does mellow a bit, but it’s got some ways to go before I can call it smooth with a straight face. It’s dry with oak, honey and burnt sugar. Sweet with a slight bitterness towards the end. There’s a LOT of flavor.

I guess that goes for the entire rum. A lot of things are happening and all of it is good. For me, the ABV could have been a bit lower, but a true cask strength dram like this certainly has its charms. I love the fact that there’s that slight chemical hint on the nose, but I don’t find it on the palate or finish. This way, it’s just right.

What I also like about this rum is that it costs 70 euros. In today’s day and age, for a drink like this, that’s rather affordable and I expected it to be more expensive.

All in all, I find this a highly recommendable rum! Kudos to Best of Wines/The Duchess for bottling this, and thanks a million for sending a sample!

88/100

Travellers Distillery 10yo, 10/2007 – 22/12/2017, Belize, cask 14, 66.6%, The Duchess Rum. Available in The Netherlands for about € 70.