Rum-Review-A-Day: Day 19 - 1423 Single Barrel Selection - Venezuela 2006 (12 yo) - 55% abv.

Slowly, and happily, working my way through the 1423 Single Barrel Selections. Today I will have my first taste of their new release from Venezuela. The rum comes from an undisclosed distillery (I’m working on it…). It is 100% Column still, 100% tropically aged for 12 years. It is then caramel coloured in the barrel resulting in a dark, mahogany coloured liquid. Bottled at 55% in 2018 with no other additives, yielding a total of 304 bottles. This is 1423’s second release from Venezuela, although the first one I am trying, so lets dig in!

On the nose the main punch is coming from the wood. Rich bourbony-oak tones, with heavily burnt butter and dark bitter vanilla extract. I will stress again the bourbon. Going just on the smell, I could almost be fooled into thinking that this was a high-proof bourbon in the glass. The wood is also quite spicy, with a clove and cinnamon dominance. Also hints of Sichuan pepper . The wood is almost to the point that it reminds me of the the old-school wooden ball air fresheners that I used to find at my grandparents house. A little piney. A little sprucey. The fruits are there, although all of them seem dried, cooked or aged. Raisin, prune, dates, apricots. 1423 themselves mention fruit cake, and I have to admit that I find this an extremely accurate description of the nose on this rum. Sweet vanlilla-rich cake batter filled with dried fruits and taken directly out of the oven - perhaps after being left in a little too long - and left to cool. Surrounded by wooden moth balls. Have I mentioned vanilla and wood?

On the palate, what a surprise, more wood! Bitter chocolate. Bitter almonds. Pine nuts. Charcoal. Coffee. A whole lot of roasted, charred, bitter things. All of which are rounded off nicely with a substantial dose of vanilla and caramel and toffee. The fruit comes out a lot more on the palate, and surprisingly I get something very different than the dried fruits that I find on the nose. Instead I find fresh green citrus. Lime peel, lime leaf and above all else, lemon grass and lemon balm (Melissa officinalis - look it up if you don’t know it. You can find it in most grocery stores and it works wonders in cocktails and desserts). These notes I find even more clear at the back of my nose as a breathe out with my mouth closed after taking a sip. Actually quite a nice contrast the dark, burnt sugar and oaky notes. I really like it when I get surprises on the palate that you cannot pick up on the nose.

The mouth feel is very dry and bitter. Quite hot, but about where I would expect it for 55% abv. Finish is medium in length and leaves you with a taste of burnt pineapple and sawdust.

Full of dark, burnt flavours and a little wood heavy. Not my favourite amongst the S.B.S. releases from 1423, but still quite interesting and definitely better than the majority of rums I have seen coming out of Venezuela.

I look forward to hearing other opinions on this one, as well as digging in to it again on another day. One thing I can say is that these S.B.Ss certainly keep my attention...A few more to go!

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