Thompson Bros. T.D.L Rum 1991

This is a 1991 vintage TDL bottled by Scotland's Thompson Brothers, a single cask aged twenty-nine years. TDL is the column-still arm of the Angostura group in Trinidad, working from island molasses, and a cask held this long is a rarity that develops a depth far beyond the light house style. Thompson Bros. is a whisky-rooted house known for natural, characterful bottlings.

Matured in ex-bourbon oak, it shows the dry concentration that decades in cask bring. The aroma is woody and minty with spice and anise, the palate brings mint, barrel and caramel over oak, and the finish stays minty and herbal with a roasted edge. There is a technical, herbal quality running through it that nods toward a lighter Caroni, all over a dry, woody frame. The rum reads closed at first and opens with air to reveal its layers, a long-aged and rewarding Trinidad that carries its 59.9% with composure once it has had time to breathe.