Pfanner Single Barrel 2013

Review by bossi

Blind tasting: very light alcohol on the nose followed by a concentrated load of freshly cut green apples and unripe bananas. The green apple and unripe banana are so present that I initially smell nothing else. After about 20 minutes standing time, glue, vanilla, pineapple and very light ester come in – this is how I imagine the smell of a Hampden without the excessive ester component. On the palate, the green apple and banana are also overly strong, but here a slight pleasant sweetness is added. The rum is probably about 56-57%. The sweetness transitions into a taste of herbs and light anise. The finish is medium-long with a slight bitter note of anise. A rum of high quality that can definitely please – which it does. Unfortunately, for me the taste of green apple and banana dominates a bit too much. I would estimate it at 56-57% with an age of 12-14 years. At first I would have placed it with Réunion/Savanna, but after 20-30 minutes more characteristics from Jamaica (and partly also Guyana) appeared. For me, the rum is a mix of Savanna and Jamaican rums – with the Jamaican characteristics definitely prevailing. For a rum from Hampden it has far too little esters, even if the apple on the nose would be a strong indication. You also find many features from Long Pond. The majority of indicators point back to Worthy Park. Although I have to say that, no matter which distillery the rum comes from, I would not call it a typical representative of that distillery. It is quite different – which could also mean that a.) it comes from a Jamaican still I don't know yet, b.) is a Jamaican blend (which is rather unlikely at cask strength) or c.) maybe even comes from a completely different country. 83 points