Description
This 15-year-old Lluidas Vale, from Worthy Park distillery in Jamaica, was aged for 3 years in the tropics and the remainder in Europe.
On the nose it shows smoky custard, green olives, black tea, salted pears, lawnmower oil and shoe polish, bananas and liquorice. There are some nice little woodsy herbal touches too (sweet cicely, thyme). With water things get more salty and savoury – think creosote, old ropes, oranges and (stick with me here) Brussels pâté on brioche. Probably the first and last time that tasting note will get wheeled out!
The palate starts with huge, sweet liquorice, lime juice and salt. The development is on plum sauce, engine oil, marmalade, candy cigarettes, and tarte tatin (maybe quince). The finish is really long, and utterly delightful, with sweet tar and tinned lychees. With water things are softer, fudgier and more citrussy. One of the things I love about these rums is that the tasting notes often read back as quite bonkers, but the rum itself is somehow deliciously cohesive.
I also think there are a few interesting points where Jamaican rums cross over flavour-wise with Islay whiskies. This would actually be a good starting point for whisky fans who want to see what this rum hoo-hah is all about. Hey, it worked for me.
This single cask produced just 177 bottles at 56.2%
56.2%
