We’ve had some good Travellers in the not so distant past… But watch this devilish strength!
Colour: gold.
Nose: very nice, with some coffee but not too much, honey but not too much, molasses but not too much, preserved bananas but not too many of them, some butterscotch… As for that devilish strength, well, piece of cake! Quite… With water: you feel it’s rather very good bourbon than rum. Some proper Old Fitzgerald, for example.
Mouth (neat): Pappy Van Winkle! Really! With water: well, we’re actually midway between bourbon and rum here, and that’s the cask speaking out. Full-flown American oak at work.
Finish: rather long, caramely, toasty, fudge-y, bourbony.
Comments: very good. To be poured blind to your absent-minded friends who know everything about anything. I mean, about anything boozy. Recommended
Malt Fascination (88)
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. 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!
BOW (85)
Whisky Speller:
A single cask rum release recently came out from the independent bottler The Duchess. A ten year old rum from Belize, distilled at the Travellers Distillery in 2007 and bottled in 2017 at 66,6%.
On the nose I can find flavours of chocolate, coffee, mango, mixture of dried fruits, rich vanilla, some buttery ones, creme brulee and a soft floral edge. The palate shows me a good amount of honey, creamy chocolate, dried fruits, cassis, ginger, pineapple, coconut, apricots, vanilla and red apples. A balanced and warming rum with a sweet and medium length finish with a light beeswax note on the end.
Thanks Best of Whiskies for sharing a sample of this new rum expression in The Duchess collection!
Whiskynotes.Be
Travellers 2007, a joint bottling between The Duchess and Eiling Lim. The Travellers Distillery in Belize began distilling in 1953 and today, they use high-test molasses with natural fermentation in their rum production, coupled with a double-distillation method.
Travellers 10 yo 2007 - The Duchess & Eiling LimTravellers 10 yo 2007
(66,6%, Eiling Lim & The Duchess 2017, Belize rum, barrel #14, 281 btl.)
Nose: more of a fruity sweetness here, typically bananas flambéed, peaches on syrup, Demerara sugar and honey coated almonds. Vanilla cake. Toffee and a hint of white chocolate here. Coconut flakes as well. Water brings out menthol and pine wood. Mouth: a lot of oak influence now, that means leathery notes, coconut cream, toffee and crème brûlée. Close to bourbon whiskey, including the slightly numbing strength. Brown sugar and honey. Pepper and eucalyptus. Sweet latte after adding water. Finish: long, with warming oak spices and fruit sweetness.
A devilish ABV: intense but it’s nicely fruity as well. Good rum, especially at this price.
