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Gardel Rumclub Private Selection Ed. 16 Treasure Cask GMG 1983
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Everyone agrees the nose is the star here — leather, tobacco, cola, prunes and dark chocolate that people say they could sniff for an hour. Then the palate flips darker: 38 years of cask show up as heavy wood, bitterness and a bone-dry, tannic finish, with menthol and black tea underneath. A rare Gardel relic that rewards long airing. Divisive by nature, and unmistakably old.
The community says- Spellbinding nose
- Deep complexity
- But: Very bitter palate
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The look inside the bottle
How does Gardel Rumclub Private Selection Ed. 16 Treasure Cask GMG 1983 taste?
Summarized by AI from 67 community reviews.
Rare old Gardel: stunning nose, bitter woody palate Most agree it's an extraordinary, one-off experience carried by a spectacular nose — though many note the palate turns very woody and bitter, falling short of that promise.
Aroma profilecollectors chasing rare, heavily-aged bottlings
anyone put off by bitter, woody rums
Style & occasion: Mature & oakySipping neat
Full aroma profile Aroma families · nose & palate · top aromas
34 of 67 left detailed tasting impressions · Click an aroma to explore similar rums
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Milder
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9.1/10
Similar rating, cheaper
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First choice: 29 of 37 tasters who tried both prefer it.
Community voices
What does the community say?
67 community reviews
37 selected write-ups on this page, all of them in the RumX app
Top 9% of Guadeloupe rums
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Ranges include their upper bound: “7–8” means above 7 up to and including 8. See the full rating guide
Positive from 8.0 · Mixed 6.0–7.9 · Critical below 6.0
Review by Gunnar Böhme "Bauerngaumen" 🤓
Most helpful positive review
Exactly my taste! Finest wood water with a wonderfully long tobacco and leather finish. Although so rare and steeped in history, I prefer KFM in the deeply bitter realms. Update 2024-11-23: I'm very pleased that my taste in this profile hasn't changed in a year and a half (as it has with so many others). So, a nice leathery constant. Score confirmed 😉
Review by Mopar Rules
Most helpful critical review
What a great Rum….this must have been at the age of 20. The nose is complex, I bet blind tasted many would go for a Velier Caroni, those with the distillation mistakes. Roasted, tar, wood, tannins, vanilla, caramel, herbs, and, seriously, toilet stone! Which brings me to the palate. A ruined rum. Just ruined. Score: 92Nose+10Palate/2=51
Review by crazyforgoodbooze
Vanilla pulp, cola, mango/peach black tea and balsamic, as well as green walnut liqueur notes on the nose. extremely complex, sweet, versatile and intense. flavor: dark, bitter, slightly sour, malty, chocolaty, mocha and black cardamom, Ceylon tea, green tea with mint, medjoul dates, prunes and extremely horny intense and pure molasses & cola notes! absolute madness that the thing after 38y not only tastes like wood. great stuff and liquid history. Much less woody than expected, this intense, viscous molasses, green walnut and plum note is simply gigantic! Only in terms of price, 200€ less would be more appropriate...
Review by Maxence
I think that is the oldest rum I've ever tasted. I'm quite surprised it is not so woody. I would even say it is very well balanced and wood does not kill everything. Kudos to RumClub 💥
Review by cigares
A very nice rum. With a lot of bitterness and wood, but also fruits, especially after a long aeration.
Review by Jakob
Complex, unique, extreme. Still pure temptation on the nose, full of citrusy-sweet cola, red fruits and tobacco. The aromas from the nose are flanked by lots of intensely tart wood and spice notes, very unique roasted aromas reminiscent of incense. An experience and, of course, liquid history, but unfortunately it seems to have already passed its zenith. It has something, but you have to like it.
Review by SaibotZtar
Very special... but you should definitely try it. Dark chocolate... Dark dried fruit. Very spicy and complex. The age is extremely noticeable here very many bitter substances slightly musty... Alcohol barely perceptible... Dust-dry and bitter finish.
Review by Leo Krüper
Bitterness prevails. Like cold coffee or black tea in which the tea bag has been left overnight. Unfortunately little other flavor notes discernible, although the nose is quite nice. Hard to judge if this is supposed to be the Gardel profile, or the barrel overlaid.
Review by Oliver
Liquid history in a glass. A nose to fall in love. On the palate then too many bitter notes for my taste.
Review by Christoph
Incredibly complex and elegant at the same time. If I were to taste blind it would be woody like an old Enmore, fruity like a not so old Skeldon, a little dirty, menthol and mint like in a Caroni to my taste. If I had to answer the question of my favorite rum, there would be an answer now.
Review by RumTaTa
I only have a single small sample, so I approached with appropriate caution and respect, after an hour of aeration I dare to approach... Nose: Super smooth and complex! And there it is: the slight buckwheat note! (I had noticed it in Edition 26 - ex-Gardel finish) I like it! Unfortunately, the palate can't keep up, very woody, bitter and a bit limp! I don't perceive any fruitiness or even sweetness, but mainly tannins and a blatant dryness. This even increases towards the finish. Apart from the bitter tones, I can't detect anything else apart from a little mint and malt. It's a great experience to be able to taste such an old and historic rum, but honestly, I would probably have given it even fewer points 😉
Review by Joachim Guger
Insanely oily, a very deep brown. Wow. What a nose. Powerful, warm. Wood, leather, deep caramel. Then plenty of powidl (Zwtschken jam cooked for hours), a hint of cherry. Some swirling reveals pencil shavings and glue. Very round and balanced. In the mouth then very woody and very minty. Long, nice finish, again with plenty of tannin. The woodiness in the mouth is extreme, but still a great, very mature rum that you can smell for hours.
Review by Lukas Jäger
This rum cannot be rated by normal standards. 38 years old, from the lost Gardel distillery (which, unlike Caroni, did not leave a whole warehouse behind...), 700€ release price. A unicorn like no other, that you have to try. On the nose already very dark, woody, but also complex, though somewhat reserved. Not surprising after such a long time in the cask, that takes time. Also herbs, mint, black tea and so on. Incredibly exciting. On the palate you mainly taste one thing: 38 years in cask. Woody, spicy, roasted, bitter, everything you can imagine. Not yet undrinkable, but also too dominant, the rest gets massively lost. Some mint, black tea and cardamom, but with every sip more cask. Exciting! Unique!
Review by Mike H.
I don’t drink a rum this old very often so it was a pleasure to have been able to sample this 38 year old rum. The nose is extremely pleasant, round, spicy, woody and some lovely prunes stand out. In the mouth the prunes disappear to make space for leather, wood, spices and licorice. A bitterness is very present as well but it’s quite likeable.
Review by Pavel Spacek
The first taste is like french rum style, sour and "old moldy cellar". 70/100 Few mins after the taste in mouth move up to full old demerara. Great!
Review by Kevin Sorensen 🇩🇰
This is a very expensive bottle and I think there are other bottles out there at the same lavel that are much cheaper. That said its still a very good rum where you get the molasses very clean and clearly. Complex yet very well balanced because usually in such an old rum the barrel takes over. Fruity with spices and a touch of licorice and coffee/espresso. Lovely rum just to expensive.
Review by LukaŽiga
8,8:On the nose, flowery, herbaceous molasses, candied, earthy with cigar tobacco, smoky roasted wood, dark with dark chocolate, cola, leather, nuts, spicy, prunes, peaches, some solvents, complex, bump into our nosetrils. On aeration, the molasses is vegetal with soy sauce, dark with black tea, wood burnt, caramelized, various fruits join like citrus and yellow, plums, banana and dried apricots, raisins. 8,2:On the palate, the attack is imbalanced, bitter and slightly astringent-tannic, with dark, burnt and smoky wood with leather, dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, nutty, spicy, medicinal, chemical notes like phenol, camphor, plastic as the molasses helps to balance a bit disturbing first observation with minty, flowery touch, black tea and licorice, so do dried fruits...complex, but... 8,6:The finish is long, balanced, dry&tannic, dirty, medicinal with phenol, rubber, the wood is roasted, burnt with various above mentioned notes, spicy with ginger, smoky, the fruits dried with prunes, dates and the molasses minty, dark with licorice and black tea. Edit:17.5.26
Review by Martin Augustin
What a nose full of leather, wood, barrel, herbs and nuts. This is reflected in the super complex taste, complemented by lots of black tea, mocha and dark chocolate. Nice bitter finish.
Review by TheRhumhoe
A true relic of the past that leaps forward into modern times. The nose opens like an old grimoire, impregnated with the barrel, with very dark notes of leather, tobacco, dark chocolate, nuts, but also a slight hint of cola and molasses that give bitterness. The spices are not to be outdone, with cinnamon, pepper, licorice and vanilla adding further deliciousness. Surprisingly, the profile retains a great deal of freshness, notably on the fruit (plum, prune, raisin, citrus) and floral and herbaceous notes (black tea). A high-flying, extremely complex and profound olfactory profile. On the palate, the attack is very full-bodied, filled with extremely dark flavors that the barrel has had plenty of time to mature: leather, coffee, dark chocolate, tobacco, licorice, anise, cinnamon, walnuts, molasses, cola and roasted notes bring great intensity to the palate. Dried fruit (prunes, grapes) and fresh notes of aromatic herbs (black tea), flowers and menthol make for a striking aromatic spectacle. A hint of salt and dust accentuates the strong character of this old-fashioned rum, at once dry, elegant, highly complex and beautifully rounded. The alcohol is well represented for the relatively low degree. The finish does not wither, letting the bitterness of the aromas and the freshness of the menthol and herb notes spread and linger on the palate. The spices and dark, woody notes impregnate the palate with their essence and add an appreciable tannic touch. A true myth, which you can love or hate, but whose history cannot be taken away. A big well done to RumClub for unearthing this nugget of the last century.
Review by mto75
On the nose, a combination of red fruits, leather, tobacco and old closet. By no means too woody, plums preserved in red wine, cola and orange peel also come to mind. I could smell this for hours 🤪 On the palate, the bitterness is surprising at first, followed by menthol and cherry wood. The finish has metallic notes and black tea. Even if the palate drops off a bit compared to the nose, really exceptional! Thanks to Oliver for the bottle split 🙏
Review by Basti
Tasted blind at the Community x-mas meeting. The nose is very inviting and intense with fruity notes. On the palate, however, it is a little too roasted, bitter and woody for my taste. An excellent rum, but not necessarily 100% to my taste. Many thanks to my Secret Santa for the great sample.
Review by Frank
A unicorn! Tried with caution and reverence: Nose right after pouring: intensely fruity-spicy, old mandarin, dried fruits (apricot, plum, date) but also fresh blackcurrant, a bit of mint, lightly candle wax. Along with dark, old wood, some leather and tobacco. Complex and honestly stunning. Palate immediately: old wood, wood acidity, spicy, distinct lacquer and polish (car body filler). Immediately menthol that turns into cardamom, a bit bitter and slightly salty. Molasses and licorice. Then moves towards old blood orange. Slightly green with mint at the back. Long. N:92, P:89, Unicorn:95
Review by Christoph H.
This one is really unique and definitely offers a flavor package rarely found. The nose is absolutely brutal and I can quite confidently say I've hardly smelled anything so complex. From dried fruits, polish, cola, chocolate, mocha to various spices, bacon, malt, herbs, mint and even creamy/buttery there's an incredible amount... Everywhere the rum opens another door. On the mouth then the total spice and mint/herb impact, but also cask, bitterness - and dryness. No more fruit. Endless finish.
Review by tojo
With a 38-year barrel aging and an extremely dark, thick viscosity, the Gardel certainly comes across as quite impressive. The nose brings great complexity: facets of chocolate, nougat, and caramel stand out. Also dried fruits, spices, and wood barrel notes. Unfortunately, the taste doesn't convince in the same way. At the start, there are some bitter notes. Then Caroni notes of rubber/workshop and green fruits appear. Extremely long finish.
Review by Johannes
Liquid history! What a nose! On the palate it falls a bit compared to the nose. Despite the proud 38 years, luckily it is not a wood soup. Wonderfully complex, bitter notes, dark fruits, tobacco. Great!
Review by Han
Of course super exciting and something very special. Unfortunately not my thing: too harshly dry, bitter, woody and bone dry.
Review by Thunderbird
You either like him or you don't! I don't think there's any room in between! And I like it.... a very elegant and you can tell it's a very old rum... you can clearly taste the barrel, but you can also clearly taste all the fine aromas of mint, herbs and mocha... the finish is extremely delicious, intense and long... super 👍🏻
Review by Mentalo
The 1983 Gardel from RumClub is without question a very good rum, but for me it is too unbalanced. A lot of wood and bitter notes. Also tobacco, leather, molasses, and cola. Alcohol is very well integrated.
Review by Rhum Mirror 🇧🇪
The color!? It really took on its casks, it's hard to be more colored than this! The nose is magical. Hard not to get lost in it for long minutes without falling in love. It's rich and indulgent with vanilla, cola, plum, chocolate... wow I totally love it! On the palate, the picture is different: dark-bitter-dark chocolate. The palate doesn't suit me too much, unfortunately, too woody. I don't perceive any fruitiness or softer notes. It's really too tannic for my taste. The finish is obviously very long on that same bitter profile that dries the mouth. It's an incredible experience to have dived into this bottle full of history. But I'll mainly remember that insane nose. Now, I'll wisely let the half bottle I have left maybe take a second life with oxidation that will enhance it... or not.
Review by Alessandro
Balanced rum with finely integrated alcohol, the short finish doesn't do justice to the nose of walnut, tobacco and wood, and the bitter taste of roasted coffee and chocolate. You have to let it breathe a little in the glass.
Review by m8375e
very intense and weird, ultra oaky. almost impossible to score, but a great one to try. thanks to rum-x for the split!
Review by Gregor
Very cool nose, like a traditional British Christmas cake, lots of sweet, dried fruits, some hazelnut but also dirty and light coffee & cocoa notes. On the palate dirtier, old cleaning rag, chocolate flakes, the dried fruits, wood but little vanilla, cola frogs in the finish (although I read something about cola).
Review by Giuseppe Ambrosio
A rum from another era! The only one so far after many, many openings of samples and bottles, just opened and it exploded with an aroma and scent throughout the whole room! A unique sensation to this day! Visually, it has a very dark color and is very viscous in the glass; On the nose, it has an intense and strong scent, at times bitter and burnt with strong notes of wood and spices; On the palate, you immediately feel a decisive and intense alcoholic note despite the alcohol content not being too high, at first the taste is not as striking as the nose, but its long years in the wood are definitely felt! After a long time, sipped in small doses for almost two hours, the nose remains very intense as in the initial phases, while on the palate the alcoholic note remained unchanged without fading, while the taste opened towards wood and bitterness with intense notes of leather and toast! Very, very intense, rightly so the wood for all this time contributed to being very predominant. Medium and not too long finish leaving the bitter note behind. Unusual and very intense to drink, overall it is a dram that I liked a lot especially for the olfactory notes.
Review by gali jo
100/100 for the nose which is excellent, one of the best, the palate however 40/100, way too much wood and bitterness. Just for smelling it I could take a bottle.
Review by Schleepie
Brilliant nose, unfortunately too weak in taste.
Review by Volkmar Weber
Really outstanding nose with a tobacco-fruit-leather composition, super atmospheric and dense, makes you want the rum. On the palate unfortunately thin, watery and fibrous. And too much wood. Definitely aged too long in the cask. Of course some nice notes, but the subtle magic of Gardel is crushed here by the wood.
Review by JFehr
Dark, really bitter. Black tea and herbs. Awesome stuff.
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Expert reviews
3 critics scored it, averaging 8.5/10. Reviews from RumX's blog partners, independent experts who have tasted, evaluated, and described this rum.
Expert review by Zucker und Zeste
Beautiful fruity nose. Fresh and dried plums, wood and chocolate. Very complex. Reminds me of the TRC Enmore 32. A different picture on the palate. Minty, fresh and bitter. Black tea, green walnuts, wood and the fruit from the nose. Just much more subtle. Very long finish. Despite the very long ageing time, the wood is surprisingly well integrated into the aroma. The bitterness makes the long storage time noticeable.
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Community shelf
43 bottles logged by 34 collectors.
Both drunk and collected.
18% opened, 4 emptied.
What does Gardel Rumclub Private Selection Ed. 16 Treasure Cask GMG 1983 cost?
Community paid 384–750 €.
Current best price: 750.00 € – above the typical community range.
Purchase prices reported by members, not a shop price. Avg. 693 €. Full price & collection history in RX+ →
43 purchased · 68 tasted · 28 wishlist · as of
Details about Gardel Rumclub Private Selection Ed. 16 Treasure Cask GMG 1983
A Column Still Rum from Guadeloupe, bottled by Spirit of Rum, at 46,6%.
About the Gardel distillery
The Gardel distillery is located in Guadeloupe. Rums from Gardel have been reviewed 158 times with an average of 8.7/10.
To Gardel →Read on in the RumX Guide
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