Planteray Trinidad 2002 15 Year Single Cask (Burrow Bar & Saint Paul)

Rum tasting at The Oak Barrel, Sydney, May 9th 2019: Rum #5 Nose: Orange zest, hazelnut, honeycomb, brown sugar, wintergreen, treacle, ash, frangipani, vanilla blossom, sultanas, mango, and a very faint funk (just enough to be intriguing)! A truly perfect and wonderfully complete aroma. Palate: Sweet dark fruits greet you initially - plums, red berries, figs. The fruity complexity grows as it develops, revealing a wide spectrum of fresh and dried fruits - pear, apple, banana, guava, pineapple, mango, papaya. There are no harsh or immature flavors; everything is balanced, aged, and sweet without being cloying or overly sugary. In fact, it's remarkably dry and refined. A subtle citrus and peppermint note is present at the edges, along with menthol and butterscotch. Quite captivating. Finish: Long. Delicate and semi-dry, the immense palate gradually recedes like distant thunder. This is an exceptionally fine rum that would serve as an impressive aperitif. It originated from a small batch of outstanding ex-bourbon casks containing Trinidad pot and column still spirit, filled in 2002. The casks matured for 10 years in Trinidad before being moved to France and transferred into ex-cognac casks from Pierre Ferrand. The spirit then underwent a final 12-month finishing period in red pineau casks. This tasting was from bottle 42, drawn from cask 4. As this rum is only available from two locations in Sydney (The Oak Barrel and the Burrow Bar), most people are unlikely to acquire a bottle. However, the good news is that I have sampled other Plantation Trinidad bottlings from the early 2000s with similar maturation, and they have all been of this caliber, or very close, with many still accessible. If you encounter one, don't hesitate. "Very Good": 87/100 (4.25 stars)