Plantation Jamaica 2004 MMW

9:On the nose, esters and cognac, menthol, rubber, then roasted wood notes like leather, cocoa and caramelized burnt sugar, spicy, tropical fruits and grapes, bump into our nosetrils, pretty intense...So it needs time to open. On aeration, the rum is thick and elegant with smoky wood and confectionery, variety of different fruits notes like prunes, raisins, dried apricots, berries and banana, citrus fruits... 9:On the palate, the attack is intense, at first alcoholic, with esters and menthol, perhaps camphor, cognac 's dried fruits like prunes and raisins, red fruits and some banana, as the wood is roasted with caramel and leather, spicy at least with vanilla, pairing herbaceous, slightly flowery and grassy(hay) molasses, which helps some fruits to become candied. 8,9:The finish is long, dry&tannic, slightly metallic, medicinal with esters and menthol, the molasses is grassy, slightly dark with black tea, the fruits are tropical with pineapple, red and dried with some figs, as the wood is spicy and almost burnt. Disclaimer:9 with long oxidation, when alcohol becomes well integrated...

What crazy key data! With such a high abv, the first question that naturally arises is the integration of the alcohol. The rum stood in the glass for about 2 hours before tasting. The nose is absolutely not pungent, the rum is not pungent on the palate either, even if a certain spiciness does come in here and there. All in very small sips. Unfortunately, the spices and fruits on the tongue and in the nose hang in a pall. Before I start to enjoy the aromas, the spiciness kicks in. Maybe I'll have to try it again. Today was not the expected Jamaica bomb that we already know from other Plantation bottlings with similar abv. Many thanks @Tom!

I opened the bottle on February 1st, straight after Dry January. First impression at that moment was that it was a bit of work after a month without alcohol. Cognac cask noticeable on the nose. Sweet at first, before the alcohol took over and the going dry/astringent. Once my tongue stopped tingling, there was a medicinal note to it. I could still taste it the next day. Yesterday I poured a bit at noon when making a sample with the intention to taste it in the evening, giving it lots of time to breathe. But in the evening I was exhausted from the flu and forgotten about it until today. That being said, the nose is more elegant and the alcohol more integrated now but still with a burn to it. Cognac cask present with stone fruits in the profile, and still the medicinal note on the back of the palate. The astringency has backed down quite a bit. So it’s fair to say that it needs A LOT of time in the glass. The finish is long, woody and dry. 8.4 is a starting point, so it could maybe go as high as 8.8-8.9 in the future with some oxidation, but I doubt that it could ever reach a 9 for me.

I let it rest in the glass for a long time and the aroma is awesome. Just the right amount of alcohol, a hint of cognac, tropical fruits and esters with a menthol overlay. Taste-wise, I wondered for a while what it reminded me of. The combination of the fairly long finish with the Jamaican esters is quite evocative of the St. Lucia production. After a longer rest there, the high abv doesn't matter at all. It's not very complex, but a nice piece in the end.