Fine Drams Clarendon Fine Old Jamaican Rum (Aficionados) EMB

"RumX Awards 2023 et goûté avec des amis. La couleur est foncée et marque les 28 ans d’âge. Le nez est très fruité avec des fruits sur-mûrs dont de l’ananas, du citron vert, un soupçon d’encoustique et un boisé jeune et une légère colle Cémentite. La bouche est plutôt douce compte tenu des 68,3 %, avec une corbeille de fruits qui envahit le palais, mirabelle, carambole, mangue et prune. De l’acidité et du miel et une belle fraîcheur discrète qui soutient le tout. La finale est très belle, longue et complexe, sur de la lime, des herbes et une belle amertume liée au bois. Un très beau rhum et un coup de cœur pour son évolutivité, sa complexité avec des fruits tellement nombreux que j’ai de la peine à les définir. Regoûté en face du 23 ans et me semble un petit peu moins bon."

"For me, the two Fine Drams Clarendons are THE releases of 2023. Typical EMB profile, no exception. This 95 bottling performs exceptionally well in EMB crosstasting. Great PLV. In the overall field, this rum is slightly behind."

"It is already apparent on the nose, but on the palate it is finally clear: this is a top representative from the 1995 Clarendon vintage. Fully ripe tropical fruit, mint, wood, even the age is recognizable - in a positive sense. Very complex, yet round, fresh, yet heavy - the EMB profile of the 1995 vintage is definitely one of the best of the EMB profile and also sets benchmarks for Jamaican releases in general. This rum is further proof of this - only the alcohol integration is not quite on a par with its sister releases. Nevertheless, an exquisite release."

"2nd place of my Clarendon 1995 EMB tasting😬😉🫨🤤 Nose: Very fruity, overripe fruits 😬 reminds me somewhere on a LP, is there also a hint of nail polish in the background 🤔 Mouth: A remarkable mix of wood, licorice, minty and fruity notes 🤤🫨 Finish: Long, woody and herbal(also a bit bitter and astringen -points), . The alcohol is integrated very well.."

"The 95 is a more woody profile than the 97, more greedy but less fruity. With aeration, it becomes more and more supple and pleasant. Noble wood, licorice and vanilla supported behind by some very ripe tropical fruits. Great depth. I love it. The mouth is of the same level, it is a very great rum. I find that a well done reduction towards 60/62% would have made it a bit more accessible. But it's a wonderful product, at a great price. I'm glad I picked up a bottle for myself!"

"This is also an outstanding representative of the 95 vintage! Not quite as strong as the 97, but real top class! Altogether a little stronger and more demanding, definitely not a rum for beginners! It lacks the good alcohol integration, otherwise it would have deserved a few more points"

"Even among the 95 vintage, this one is quite intense. Despite some time to oxidize in the opened bottle, the FD needs quite some time to open up. It remains very intense on the nose as well as on the palate delivering on the sought after profile, which I quite enjoy. On its own, I like to bottling very much but feel that (from memory) there are some sister casks out there, which provide a bit more complexity while being more accessible. Still very good in my book."

"I like it even better than the 97. Really intense after passion fruit, lime and other tropical fruits, lots of menthol, violets and vanilla pulp, as well as the slightly meaty, bacony note typical of emb. Really unusual and wacky."

"Vermutlich der beste Clarendon, den ich bisher hatte! Auch nach erneuten und erneuten Testen ist dieser Rum einfach ausgezeichnet! Er verbindet perfekt die Frucht und das Holz eines tropisch gereiften Jamaikaners!"

"I was spontaneously torn open by DomM yesterday evening. Must try this one again at my leisure. From the fresh bottle it's a little too alcoholic for me. I think a better rating would be possible with enough time to breathe."

"Super good EMB 1995, but for me a bit behind the RA 1995 EMB."

"Very good Clarendon. Tried on vacation...there it tastes even better 😎"

"A beautiful, reddish-brown color. A really great nose. Woody, spicy, licorice and dried fruit. A hint of Hampden. Varnish and solvent. Warm, balanced and very powerful. And then tar. Very complex. Then very strong in the mouth (felt more than 65%), slightly furry. Complex spices, caramel, wood. Medium long finish. Great rum! Many thanks to Michael for the great blind sample!"

"Beautiful Clarendon. Some bitterness in the wood, quite dry. Super PLV"

"Oh yes, I am thrilled to the max with this old tropical aged EMB. Nose: incredibly intense and voluminous, complex and dense. Very tasty! Lots of tropical fruit, pleasant wood, nicely spicy while still fresh and with wonderfully integrated high ABV. First, intense lemon and lime with orange zest and passion fruit and papaya. Light pineapple and distinct gooseberry come in. Besides that, floral with violets. The freshness comes not only from the lemon, but also from a light mint note. The fruit is capped by restrained esters and the associated fine vinegar essence, which also goes in the direction of polish. Fragrant cherry wood with neat vanilla and some black pepper round out the picture. Fantastic. 9.3 Palate: the nose continues consistently full-bodied and delicious on the palate. Again, that intense fruit with lime, passion fruit and pineapple. Here now also more intense mint with even more violet, which brings a clear association towards soap. Out the back stronger flavors of toasted barrel, vanilla, slightly bacony with salt. Eerily beautiful. 9.1 This '95 EMB is totally coherent. Makes a decent impression even after half an hour in the glass and is just delicious."