The Auld Alliance – Corman Collins Clarendon Clarendon MMW 2004

Bottled jointly by The Auld Alliance and Corman Collins, this is a single cask Clarendon distilled in 2004 and aged 16 years in the tropics. Clarendon is Jamaica's workhorse supplier running both pot and column, and this comes off the heavy pot side with the high-ester intensity that draws single cask hunters.

Distilled from molasses on a double-retort pot still and matured in ex-bourbon wood, the nose is the showpiece, glue, solvent, pineapple, tropical fruit and red berries all at once. The palate turns drier and more structured, tropical fruit and ester over woody, alcoholic weight, with a toasted, leathery finish. Bottled at 61% and unsweetened, it pairs the loud Jamaican nose with a serious oak backbone, a dry, expressive pour for experienced drinkers who want high-ester fruit framed by full-strength wood rather than sweetness.