Velier Clarendon Rum Sapiens Wedderburn MMW 1984

Rum Sapiens is a single cask from Velier, the Genoa house that is the most prestigious name in collectible rum, known for tropically aged, full-proof, additive-free single casks. Distilled at Clarendon in 1984 from a Wedderburn-style mark (MMW, a Monymusk pot-still code) and bottled at thirty-five years old, it is a rare survivor of long tropical ageing at a strength almost unheard of for its age.

Distilled on the pot still from molasses and matured in ex-bourbon oak under Caribbean heat for thirty-five years, the angel's share has concentrated this into something formidable. The nose gives barrel, nail polish, mint and banana; the palate is bitter, woody and dense with dark chocolate, tobacco and huge tannin, closing on barrel, menthol and lingering bitterness. Unsweetened and bottled at a colossal 69%, it changes by the minute and runs almost endless on the finish. A contemplative benchmark old Clarendon for the most experienced palates only.