Spirit Gallery T.D.L Trinidad 2003

Fantastic 2003 TDL! It brings absolutely everything I expect from a good TDL. Mint, menthol, and eucalyptus that freshen up the whole mouth without being one-dimensional or too intense are accompanied by red fruits like cassis, dark juicy blackberries, red and black currants like in red fruit jelly. Orange peel adds warmth and freshness. In the finish, there’s also peach and passion fruit, as well as lychees like in an awesome homemade iced tea based on strong black tea, plus endless menthol and eucalyptus and a hint of burnt caramel... Alcohol perfectly integrated. Amazing bottling!! 🇹🇹🐢

Sensationeller TDL. Typische Noten die man von neueren TDL, nach 2000, erwartet. Ergänzend zu dem „normalen“ wie Minze/Mentol, tropischen Früchten finde ich hier etwas Cassis/Schwarze Johannisbeere, was mir sehr gefällt. Zurecht in der Liste der Top-Abfüllungen 2023 (RumX-Auswertung)

Impressive notes of cassis, plus the expected intense mint-menthol profile paired with spicy-woody barrel influences, which tend to act in the background - aromatically without the big fireworks, because the fruitiness is very much dominated by the blackcurrant, as mentioned, but that doesn't make the rum any less fascinating. Great, pronounced aromas, wonderfully round and oily mouthfeel - I like it very much.

After I tasted the rum solo yesterday and was quite impressed by it, it has to go up against another 2003 today: my choice is the CdI Caksus (RX11936), which I gave a whopping 89 points to back then. And what can I say: it has a really hard time against this brand new TDL from the still very unknown Bottler Spirit Gallery! If one is ahead on the nose and then the other 😉, although neither of them is yet highly recommended, but rather greets you shyly with slightly alcoholic vapors, the heavyweight from Spirit Gallery turns up the heat on the palate and literally pushes the Caksus against the wall. To put it plainly: the CdI Caksus gets the maximum palatable flavors out of the 56.3%, especially menthol, while the Spirit Gallery, by virtue of its (fairly well integrated) 60%, mainly presses a huge spice onto the palate (menthol plays a rather subordinate role). Conclusion: The Caksus TDL is more the light-footed, good-humored lightweight boxer who plays at the top of his class, while the Spirit Gallery TDL is the impetuous, somewhat fierce heavyweight boxer at the beginning of his career, who can hardly walk with power, but already has a lot of potential. A somewhat unequal fight, which fortunately still ends in a draw.

Edit: TDL battle! For me, the best of the lot. The nose is from another world, with lots of fuits, menthol, spices, yellow and red fruits, notably blackcurrant and dried apricots. The palate follows with lots of fruit, and a tea-bag background. Mint turns to chlorophyll and eucalyptus. The finish is endless. In short, my best TDL to date, powerful and complex.

This is a high-end TDL... it combines all the good flavors of mint, menthol, fruits, spices, herbs and sweetness. For me, it's comparable to the Rasta Morris... only one small drawback: the alcohol could be a little better integrated. But that only makes a small difference

WOW ... Wonderful noses black currant, mint, eucalyptus honey ... very tasty . On the palate similar game the red fruits dominate at first... then mint and eucalyptus come through nicely . Really good 2003 👍

It takes a while for everything to unfold on the nose, then I have yellow and red fruits, dirty notes, caramel. The freshness is also there, but not as dominant as in the RA 2001, for example. Fruity, dirty on the palate, menthol at the back, tannins/barrel. Very long, never-ending finish. An excellent TDL! Amazing that such a young IB could track down such a pearl!

9,1:On the nose, the first impression is really great, round and balanced with menthol, roasted wood notes like nuts, caramel, dirty, fruity with blackcurrant, berries and pineapple, herbaceous, flowery with an elderflower and grassy molasses. On aeration tobacco, honey pop up, fresh, minty notes, red, dried and citrus fruits, dark chocolate and vanilla, some tar. 9,1:On the palate, the attack is balanced with fruits like blackcurrant, dried fruits with raisins, apricots, when rested with yellow, tropical fruits like pineapple, maracuja and citrus with lemon grass, then menthol and fresh, herbaceous, flowery, minty molasses with honey, roasted wood with caramel, nuts and spicy. Later we might find tobacco, eucalyptus and some tar. 9:The finish is dry and tannic, a bit smoky, most of the palate notes lingering on, we could also catch some sour cherry, passion fruit and hints of crunchy bread... Edit:29.11.25, oxidation does miracles, an upgrade 0,2

👃 The nose is taken by spice, oak, red fruit, mint and caramel. 👄 The palate offers even more spice, tropical fruit. It's fat and very empyreumatic. The alcohol is quite present, well integrated and this juice easily supports being aerated.

Super Nase! Sehr frisch, Teer, trocken, Früchte und würzig. Im Mund dann sehr kräftig, würzig, leicht pelzig, Karamell und konzentrierte Kräuter. Karamell und Kräuter im Abgang. Ein Kraftlackl aus Trinidad mit superinteressanter Nase.🤩 Dank nach Bonn!🙏

An der Nase unverkennbar Minze, aber auch einiges an Gewürzen, Holz, Karamell und auch fruchtige Noten. Am Gaumen dann schön intensiv mit einer ordentlichen Portion Minze, aber auch Frucht (Beeren), leicht adstringierend. Sehr guter 2003er TDL!! Edit: Schlägt sich im Vergleich zu anderen 2003er TDLs sehr gut!

Once again a very good, typical representative of the TDL of the 2003 vintage with the classic clear minty notes.

Whaou ! Quelle découverte , une magnifique trouvaille pour un tarif tout à fait cohérent. J adore les TDL eh bien là je suis comblé il y a tout ce que j aime .au nez on a un melange épicé fruits rouges, bois exotique, sucre brûlé, une touche de fraise . C est bien lourd !en bouche l alcool passe bien. On a toujours le cassis mais complété par une belle fraîcheur mentholée/ chlorophylle. une belle longueur boisée fraiche et de la vivacité avec un côté quinquina. Du début jusqu'à la fin , un véritable plaisir !

In the test WDC, RC(Edt.52?), Hunter Laing and the one from Spirit Gallery. The differences are clearly recognizable, the WDC and RC are more on the Spanish chocolate side, whereas the SG and HL are the absolute minty alcohol bombs. There's a bit too much mint in both for me, which overpowers almost everything. Sorry, it's a little too much for me. But it's a matter of taste, unfortunately not mine. Otherwise they are all good bottlings, although I would put the WDC and RC more in the easy sipping category.