Monymusk 2010 EMB - Habitation Velier - 62%
Photo taken somewhere in Stuttgart
This 100% pot still distilled and tropically matured Jamaican from Clarendon Distillery is one of the few tropically aged Monymusks released by Velier. The mark EMB (respective Wedderburn) actually describes an ester level range of 240-250, while Velier used 275,5 gr/hlpa, which is meanwhile relatively moderate for Jamaican dimensions. We tried the Monymusk 1995 of the Khong Series by Velier before and were simply overwhelmed. That brought us to this wee fellow, which has the same mark but costs one-fourth the price.
Nose
The first impression is so lovely that it makes one sit down. Imagine a thick fruit pot of plums, overripe bananas, figs and apricots, that were pickled in honey, almond paste and coconut butter for a month, and then refined with crushed vanilla pots, espresso beans and appleseeds and a very few mint leaves. It's a whole dessert composition. After a few minutes in the glass a slight dirtiness arises, with an idea of wet mud in the forest, mushrooms and noble mold (we offer bleu d'Auvergne or Roquefort). With water: Herbaceous notes up, with cress, more mud and wet leaves, old molasses and lavender oil.
Palate
Mi corazón! It's so full-bodied, beautifully herbaceous and really spicy (the tropes know how to squeeze an oak). Maybe a hear's breath too spicy. Beware of the funk now. We get tamarind paste, overripe bananas and fermented pineapple juice. With water: Doesn't loose intensity, just becomes more delicate, with vanilla cake and a wave of salted caramel fudge.
Finish
Longer than O. J. Simpsons trial, with a pronounced lemon and grapefruit bitterness, burnt agaves and the abrasion of new tyres (the taste of Le Mans).
Rating
Dear friends, for our taste this is the ideal ester level for enjoyment. On one hand very delicate but with the necessary entertaining edges on the other hand. While many Bajan rums tend to be too pleasing and creamy, some high ester monsters from Jamaica are thrilling, but too extreme and challenging to be enjoyed. This one sits right in between. In direct comparison, the 1995 was richer and more complex, but it still gets...
