Distilia T.D.L The Golden Age of Piracy Bartholomew Roberts Black Bart 1991

Distilia bottled this single cask TDL from the 1991 vintage as part of The Golden Age of Piracy series, a 31 year Trinidad rum drawn at cask strength. TDL is Trinidad Distillers Limited, the living producer within the Angostura group, and its oldest single casks trade the usual lightness for deep, wood-driven intensity.

Matured in ex-bourbon oak for three decades, it shows the marks of long ageing, with caramel, oak, vanilla and tobacco on the nose, then a palate dominated by tobacco, oak, caramel and tar, finishing on coffee, cocoa and drying tannins. This is firmly oak-led rather than fruity, with a faint Caroni-like edge to the savoury notes. At 62.7% the strength can turn slightly intrusive, but the long maturation has built real character. A dark, powerful old Trinidad rum for slow meditation-style sipping in small measures.