Rum Sponge No. 17 ITP

Super round Long Pond, so very tamed nose with hardly any esters and definitely no typical Jamaican rum. For this honey / caramel with roasted coffee, wood and vanilla. Very harmonious! The mouthfeel shapes up similarly with delicious coffee and honey. A peppery spiciness comes in suddenly on the finish, but quickly fades in favor of caramel, vanilla and chocolate.

A rum tasted online with Angus MacRaild. The nose is spicy, with banana, roast and chocolate.the palate is smooth, pastry-like, with esters and tropical fruits.the finish is long and the aromas remain very present on the palate. A very fine finish for this LP 2004. The empty glass adds a light caramel, my second favorite of the evening.

Very reminiscent of a Foursquare on the nose and parallels can also be seen on the palate. Spices, a slight sweetness, wood, tr. fruits and caramel dominate the palate. Overall, a tasty Low Ester Long Pond with well-integrated ABV.

Superbe Long pond. J’adore. Même si à l’aveugle je ne l’aurais jamais reconnu, tant les marqueurs habituels manque un peu mais le résultat est vraiment top 🤩🤩 Beaucoup de fruits, du caramel du boisé , des épices et un petit côté mielleux 😍

In a blind tasting, I would have guessed a blend of Long Pond and (very good) Belize. Extremely exciting profile. Very approachable yet complex. Atypical and very exciting character. A real highlight in the RumSponge tasting!

Edit: in the meantime I have bought a bottle and tried it again, I am still enthusiastic about this one, but for the sake of fairness I have adjusted it downwards a little compared to others. At first I thought it was from Barbados, maybe a Foursquare? The taste reminded me a little of a rum from New Yarmouth. An absolute cracker for me. Has probably now knocked my favorite Long Pond (Cambridge 2010) off the throne. Many thanks to Serge, who gave me his double sample!

Rum Sponge - RumX-live tasting, fourth rum of the evening. And also a pleasant surprise. Is probably the only ITP from 2004 so far.Low Ester, slightly diluted from 66% to 60%.Nose: fruity, with a subtle vinegar note. Cocoa powder next to it. Clearly has something of fruit bread with candied orange peel and lemon peel. Now comes banana with aromas of red apple. Honey and toffee give a pleasant sweetness that plays against the vinegar. Nice nose. 8.6Palate: wonderfully intense, balanced yet complex. Spicy and bacony right at the start. Quite a bit of doughy aromas of brioche. Sweet tonka bean and licorice. The ABV fits very well. 8.8

You nose lands with me here more at Foursquare than at Long Pond maybe I should have gone out in between. but hello coconut 😅 Is but by no means negative but plays purely as in a good blend. The ester content is with ITP on rather low level and is restrained in the background perceptible. On the palate it becomes quite complex. Tropically fruity. Slightly bacony. With a light but distinct roasted note. Quite own profile overall. Definitely deserves more attention.

Very tasty Long Pond with (largely) tropical maturation. Blind I would never have estimated as 100% Pot Still - he brings traits of a (good) Column Dedtillation in the game: pastry, chocolate, melting. Like a 94NY, or a Barbados or Belize rum. That in combination with typical LP markers makes it very tasty for me and also still acceptably priced.

Piouf, that's good too! Very tasty and well-balanced! Reduction is good.

Overall a great and complex rum without expected funkiness. The nose is fruity, woody and round with aromas of vanilla and caramel At the palate it’s fruity, spicy, sweet, complex and round with flavors of banana and caramel.

Very round Long Pond which almost tastes like a Travellers or Antigua. Definitely flawless but I miss the extra thing to get closer to 90 points.

Tasted at the April Lottery RumX tasting with Angus from Rum Sponge, number 4:On to Jamaica, off to Long Pond.Not too dominant esters on the nose, but definitely present. Somewhere in the middle between low and high esters. Nice mouthfilling and dominant, but not as brachial as many other bottlings from Jamaica. Even though we often look for the brute in Jamaica, this bottling is surprisingly tasty. Round and not too demanding, but still very present, also very oily and pleasant on the tongue. Very special Long Pond bottling and the first 2004 that comes my way.Super exciting, even if it does not quite come close to the 92 Enmore a great contribution to this tasting!

Ähnlicher dem gerade verkostete V&M 1994 NY als dem davor getesteten Wu Dram LP 2001, auch hier Anklänge von Barbados.

This one is quite nice and smooth. It's got this cocoa note that I like in long ponds, however due to low esters it is not complemented by the fruity sweet - sourness. It has loads of vanilla, some banana and dried fruit.