TDL (Trinidad) 2003 Rum, The Whisky Jury

Nose: immediately very tropical. Think mango sherbet, passion fruit bavarois and hints of fresh pineapple. Not the half-fermenting type, just a really bright fruit salad. We forgot to mention guava juice. Then after a while spearmint sets in, with hints of warming vanilla and light leafy notes.

Mouth: a truckload of fruits again, although a little less exhuberant than the nose suggested. Still very nice, on mango, guava, papaya. Now lacking some of the sherbety hints. I’m getting a little bergamot and lime peel too. Light hints of saffron, plenty of crushed mint leaves and wood spice as well. Later also aniseed and liquorice. Takes water well, by the way.

Finish: long, minty and fruity, alongside mild woody notes and just a very light industrial / diesel-like note.

Even better than the previous TDL which was already quite excellent. Lots of tropical fruits with refreshing mint and balanced wood. Top class. I’m guessing this will be really hard to find at this point, check the Whisky Jury website for retailers.

Remember TDL stands for Trinidad Distillers Limited, who are the makers of Angostura in Port of Spain. Colour: gold. Nose: fully on mango liqueur, mango syrup, preserved mangos, fresh mangos and mango jam. You may add a few slices of ripe bananas, papayas and pineapple. This is spectacularly fruity while that's probably an understatement. With water: forgot to mention mango ice cream. These pink bananas too are spectacular, and so are the ripe guavas that are adding touches of wackiness. What a fruit monster! Mouth (neat): bombastically fruity. Sure it's a little strong but it does remind me of some early-1970s Benriachs, for reasons hard to explain. With water: a little more on peel, skins, barks, pips and stones, but it swims extremely well. Touches of fresh mint and liquorice, which often pop out of very fruity spirits in my experience. Finish: long, incredibly fresh and fruity. And mango-y. Comments: when AI will have taken over, this is the kind of 'fruity rum' it'll produce for us. Hopefully. It is extremely spectacular, while I'm sure no 'additives' have ever been added and so no corners ever cut. Madness.