The Duchess Travellers 2007

The Duchess Travellers 2007 is a 10 year Belizean rum from the Travellers distillery, a column-still molasses spirit drawn from a single 2007 cask by the Dutch bottler and presented unsweetened at a hefty 66.6%. It is a natural-strength expression of a distillery better known for softer profiles, pushed here into bolder, more concentrated territory.

Matured in ex-bourbon oak, it leads with plum, dried fruit, dried figs and chocolate on the nose, the palate echoing dark fruit and spice with a drying, slightly bitter edge. At 66.6% the alcohol bites if poured straight, so it asks for a short rest or a drop of water, after which a fruity, woody, lightly chocolatey Travellers character settles into place. Drier and gentler in spice than a comparable Foursquare yet still warm and long, it makes a rewarding sipper for those who like their rum unsweetened and at full power.