u/DH90

Only back from Italy and managed to get a hold of these two while over there just in time for the birthday today. I also got a nice Romeo y Julieta Cuban to pair with as well so I reckon that will go nicely with the Black Tot. Looking forward to experiencing both later.

Going to crack into the two Habitation Veliers tonight. Will wait to open the 1990 C<>H until next month to coincide with my birthday (I'm a 1990 child, so this was a very special buy for me).

I'm going to have to get back to some reviewing. I have a backlog of bottles to review, but I seem to spend more of my time on the hunt for special new bottles instead of spending time nerding out over them.

Both hilarious and really thoughtful.

And for anyone wondering why Shaffelburg? We just had this stupid in-joke where, for whatever reason, we both used to put on some exaggerated Texas accent and shout out "Come on Shaffelburg!" whenever he had the ball.

The line-up:

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- An 18 year old Foursquare 2006 single cask, released by Distilia in collaboration with Christopher Bellail of Bar 1802, Paris, who chose the cask, with 14 of those years tropically aged.

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- A 6 year old Hampden HGML 2017 single cask, released for the Spirits in the Sky 2023 Festival in collaboration with Habitation Velier and IB The Nectar who chose the cask. Completely tropically aged.

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- A 7 year old Hampden <>H 2010 blend of 5 casks, released by Velier in collaboration with artist Warren Khong. Completely tropically aged.

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- A 27 year old Enmore distilled single cask, chosen by IB Rum Artesanal. This rum was distilled using the Versailles Single Wooden Vat Still <REV>.

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Really looking forward to cracking into these highly-rated releases. I think I'll crack into the Hampdens tonight and leave the Foursquare and Enmore for another evening. The colour of that Enmore though - it's the only transparent bottle and look how that colour blends in with the other 3 bottles!

Chilling out after a successful bbq and the guests have all headed home. Here's hoping there'll be many more days like this instead of non-stop pissing rain, which is usually the norm.

Here is La Maison & Velier's Caroni release celebrating the 100th Anniversary of the famous Caroni Distillery. The bottle design replicates the style of design from the days of Tate & Lyle's 1940's Caroni releases. Released in 2018, it is now regarded as one of the more affordable Caroni bottles that usually go for crazy money, especially for being entirely tropically aged.

Country of Origin: Trinidad & Tobago

ABV: 51.4% ('90° imperial proof')

Age: 18 years tropically

*Tasting Notes*

Nose: Papaya, menthol, diesel, apple, anise, brown sugar, leather

Mouth: Menthol, caramel, anise, apple, citrus, almond/marzipan, banana

Finish: Flavour doesn't last too long but a building warmth maintains for a lengthy finish

While the nose is strong, the palate is a lot more subdued. This one goes down very easy and that's probably down to the lower proof. While not too heavy, there is a creaminess to the mouth which is really special. It's definitely a great bottle that showcases Caroni at a more manageable pricetag than many of the other releases.

Rating: 8.5/10

Here is a bottle from South African Distillery, Mhoba, bottled by Habitation Velier. Mhoba rum was released to the market by Robert Greaves back in 2015. He grew up farming sugarcane and went on to study mechanical engineering. It was a combination of his understanding of both that caused him to create his own pot stills and to begin making rum from the sugarcane. Obviously, Luca Gargano must have been quite the fan to arrange this collaboration.

Country of Origin: South Africa

ABV: 64.6%

Age: 4 years subtropically at origin in ex-bourbon

*Tasting Notes*

Nose: Quite Jamaican reminiscent, plastic, pineapple, acetone, lime, banana, bubblegum, vanilla, cherry, lavender, sea salt

Mouth: Banana, honey, wood varnish, cardamom, lime, caramel, cherry

Finish: Flavour holds on for a medium length while the mild tingle of a burn sustains for a long time with a hint of a smokey flavour underlying.

Not only is this a challenging rum, but it is very engaging. It has a very strong nose but a gentler yet still heavy palate to follow. The alcohol integration is almost seamless with a smokey mild burn coming though which only adds to the experience. Very impressive.

Rating: 8.7/10

I've been keeping a close eye on these bottles for a long while. Felt it was time to jump on them since they really are on their way to being rarities. Delighted to finally have these 3 in particular as they are meant to really hold their own against some of the old Velier Guyana releases (and there's not a chance I'll ever get a hold of one of those unicorns). Decided to crack open the Enmore first and, just wow, it's such a beast. Looking forward to checking out the other 2 throughout the weekend.

A few auction wins. Been after that HLCF for a while since it's meant to be one of the nicest expressions of the mark. I'll also be able to do a nice A/B of the Velier Isautiers too.

And I've finally completed my Great House collection! Not sure I'll open up the 2019 for a while. Great House is the one rum series I had always wanted to collect all bottles of. I'm just glad I managed to get that 2019 for a not "overly" expensive price.