Uitvlugt Port Mourant 1964 Cadenhead’s - 72,1%
Taken in a catholic church in Stuttgart
Tadaa! Whisky Digest ist back!
As we were quite busy doing stupidities like bottling own casks, brand building, sometimes working too, we've once again decided to prioritize our precious time on something meaningful and substantial, even elementary again, which is reviewing spirits (cough). To kickstart our activities we've decided to serve you with a rum today, which could be labeled with many names, "the best rum in the world" is just one of them. But we are rushing ahead again. A lot has been written about the fascinating Rum stills of Guyana, now all consolidated at DDL, by people way more knowledged. So we'll skip that point and just quickly go through the specs: Distilled 1964, bottled 1997. So one could already speak about bottle ageing today, right? There are four different Cadenhead's bottlings of this vintage, all around 70% abv with two 36 yo, a 32 yo and a 30 yo (which is the rarest).
Nose
If Diamond 1988 was Mozarts Requiem, this fellow is Bachs Mass in B-Minor! Hence deeper, more transcendental and complex. The driest plums from Bavaria. A basket full! Raisins from Turkey. The finest tobacco from Vuelta Abajo (Robaina quality). The sweetest Medjoul dates from Jordan. Burned insense straight from the Vatican. New Santoni leather boots. Shall we stop? Damp earth in a jungle. Molasses and Art Deco furniture. But also mouthwatering scents of grilled lamb with mint in a morocan restaurant (sorry vegetarians). Beneath all this wild stew, a subtle hint of lavender and Ylang-Ylang wafts through, lending elegance and finesse to the very oily and heavy notes. The epitome of complexity. The Olympus of a bouquet.
Palate
Rome is burning ladies and gents!
This rum is a juggernaut that crushes everything that came before it. By that we don't mean the incredibly well-integrated 72.1%, but the sheer force of flavours sizzling on the tongue.
Big time molasses sweetness up front, carried by a fine cocoa bitterness of the best Bajan chocolate. Tonka Beans creme, fleshy notes, morocan mint, cuban tobacco again, intense Manuka Honey notes and Umami all over the place. The whole mouth is coated in Umami flavours. The earthy, manioc root-y and leathery finish resembles the length of the Great Wall of China (today we are dealing with geography). What a monster!
Rating
Not sure a rum can get any better than this. We haven't yet tried two of the 4 different 1964, but also the 36 yo 70% was in the same league (the missing two will be tasted soon). The bouquet alone is so brillant and complex that you could easily sit down with a glass and a Charles Dickens book for days, just to smell and be satisfied. Palate-wise it is comparable to the excellent 1975 Cadenhead's, only with slightly deeper and darker nuances. Anyone who wants a taste of spirits heaven should at least get a sample.
With this in mind we'd like to finish this chapter with Dr. Willbur Larches famous words "Good night, you Princes of Maine! You Kings of New England!" La messa è finita.
