Wu Dram Clan T.D.L Trinidad Rum 2003

In direct comparison with the current Valinch & Mallet, which is almost the same age and also has quite a few years of tropical experience. The WDC is rounder than the V&M, which is neither negative nor positive...both top and I am very excited about the upcoming candidate of the whisky jury. Lots of menthol here, alcohol perfectly integrated. Peach compote. Relatively little wood, which becomes more intense with a few drops of water (sorry, old whisky habit). A bit of tobacco and leather, just as expected and desired. Very tasty and easy to drink. Cheers

Le nez est assez alcoolique au prime abord mais enchaîne sur beaucoup de fruité, avec de la pêche bien mûre, du thé noir, un léger menthol et des épices chaleureuses (vanille, cannelle). Un léger boisé est là mais pas trop marqué malgré son âge. En bouche, c'est surtout le menthol qui frappe le palais. L'alcool est très bien intégré. Arrivent derrière le caramel fondant type fudge, la gousse de vanille. Le tout est bien complexe avec ce goût de mélasse. C'est gourmand et réconfortant. La finale est très longue sur cette menthe fraîche, et des épices.

Espresso Martini! What a rum! Definitely underrated und worth more than the 8.4 it was rated at the time I tasted it. And NOT the TDL „Einheitsbrei“. Never had a rum with such an intense espresso taste and burned caramel flavor before. Farl, intense, well balanced reminds me this rum of a coffee with sn amaretto shot. Or just a perfect espresso martini. This is a special but excellent rum.

Not a challenging rum, pleasant to drink. Alcohol very well integrated. Starting rather roasty on the nose, vanilla (pudding) dominates on the palate. In the finish, I find dry coffee as a base and - after a longer period of time - finally a brief flash of mint. Blindly and without a long time to breathe, I would have given this rum the Spanish style. But it's well worth letting it rest for a while, as it becomes more and more palatable over time. Yes, it's fun, well rounded, even if it has little in common with the heavyweights of the 2003 April TDL style. You can see what a difference two months of distillation can make ... 😉

Initially I couldn’t fit it into the TDL frames. But after some time it opens up really nice and your patience will be rewarded with a great profile, marking all the boxes. The alcohol is also integrated really good. Take your time, it is worth it!

Sticky and alcoholic are the first things that come to mi mind when nosing. Some syrup and the nice yellow fruits that are the plus when it's about TDL, and here they're accompanied with some dark tea. What is missing is a fresh note, and this is confirmed also when it comes the time to drink. The traits found on the nose are all confirmed, yellow friut is clearly peach, to which some dark berries are added. A stunning profile, just a pity that the alcohol integration is not perfect, thing that lowers my score

What a lot of hype! Let's see what this TDL can really deliver. The nose is very restrained, nothing happens immediately. As soon as it opens up, which takes some time, you have a lot of spices and something grassy was probably the "minty" harbinger. Mouth: A really great TDL, comparatively less minty, but lots of yellow fruit. Reminds me a little of apricot mango. At the first sip, the mint flashes up and then recedes a little into the background. It changes its facets in the glass a little between fruit and spice. A fair price compared to the other TDLs. Very tasty in terms of flavor. The finish is okay, could be longer, but you're complaining at a high level here. Not a 9 for me but a super solid 8 in the upper range.

Rhum club de Lille session 1 : on termine par ce beau Wu Dram Clan 22 ans qui plaît fortement aux amateurs, mais un peu moins aux plus aguerris. Menthol, péché, léger boisé se croisent, c’est facile à boire; mais ça ne décolle pas, dommage il manque un petit quelque chose pour en faire une cuvée d’exception.

Du bois, du caramel, beaucoup de vanille, du thé, du menthol et des fruits jaunes. Un beau TDL.

For me, the rum falls somewhere between the Tamosi 2000 and 2003 in today's initial assessment. The bottom line is that this is a very good TDL. Still restrained on the nose, typical TDL markers emerge on the palate and the mint also stands out clearly.

Very nice new 2003 TDL from Wu Dram Clan. The nose is dominated by fruit bread, raisins and caramel and the mint remains rather in the background... On the palate, on the other hand, the mint is recognizable, although not quite as prominent as in other bottlings of the 2003 vintage. This is joined by candied peach, strongly brewed iced tea, caramelized and roasted pecan nuts, vanilla pulp and Virginia tobacco... In the finish there are tannins reminiscent of black tea, also pleasantly dry and only slightly minty, but the finish is also relatively short, hence slight deductions. Overall, definitely a really successful bottling, although for me personally a little too caramelly (Spanish) and too short on the finish, so not yet a 9+. Certainly does very well in the Old Cuban!

An der Nase eher verhalten. Am Gaumen sehr schön rund. Eher wenig Minze, dafür vergleichsweise viel Vanille. Wie erwartet geht diese Abfüllung aus Februar 2003 eher in Richtung spanischer Stil. Für mich als Fan der eher krautigen TDL daher nicht ganz mein Beuteschema, ich muss WDC aber zugestehen, hier ein gutes Fass ausgesucht zu haben. Der Alkohol ist gut eingebunden und im Gesamteindruck ist das schon ein schönes rundes Teil. Im direkten Vergleich hat der Tamosi TDL 2003 dennoch für mich etwas die Nase vorn.

Entspannter 2003 TDL. Hier finde ich keine der extremen Geschmacksausprägungen wie bei andern TDLs, desshalb ziemlich zurückhaltend. Auch Minze technisch eher auf der milderen Seite. Nichts desto trotz eine solide Abfüllung!

Der nächste 2003er TDL. Gehofft hatte ich auf eine Minz:Menthol Bombe als TWJ oder Romdeluxe 42. Leider halten sich die Mentholnoten an der Nase und am Gaumen dezent im Hintergrunds Minze ist kaum zu schmecken. Alkohol ist perfekt eingebunden. Ansonsten ein super Rum.

Edit: guter Begleiter zur Zigarre, nach oben korrigiert Im Test WDC, RC(Edt.52?), Hunter Laing und der von Spirit Gallery. Die Unterschiede sind klar erkennbar, der WDC und RC sind eher auf der spanischen Schokoladen Seite, wobei der SG und HL die absoluten Minzmentholbomben sind. Mir ist es etwas zu viel Minze bei beiden, die fast alles überlagert. Sorry ist mir ein wenig too much. Aber ist eben Geschmackssache, meiner leider nicht. Ansonsten sind alles gute Abfüllungen wobei ich den WDC und RC eher auf der easy Sipping Kategorie ein ordnen würde.