Les Grands Alambics Sea and Sun 1999

Les Grands Alambics bottled this old Trinidad rum from the 1999 vintage under its Sea and Sun label. Trinidad's living style runs light and column-distilled, and at 22 years this example has aged into something dry and notably whisky-like rather than lush. It was bottled unsweetened at a natural 52.9 percent.

Matured from molasses in ex-bourbon oak, it shows orchard fruit and esters more than tropical sweetness: green apple, ester, caramel and pepper on the nose, then pepper, vanilla, a whisky-like character and wood on the palate, finishing on coffee, caramel, roast and sugar. The body is light but characterful, the profile leaning toward smoke, oak and a green-apple acidity that recalls a single malt as much as a rum. One for drinkers who enjoy dry, barrel-driven spirits and want an elegant, smoky old Trinidad rather than fruit-forward TDL.