Aroma visualization from community tastings
Velier Clarendon Exclusive for Guiseppe Begnoni EMB 1997
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Sip this one slowly and neat — at nearly 70% it's built for a tasting glass, not cola. Expect grilled pineapple, ester and varnish up front, then dark chocolate, coffee, tobacco and menthol over deep tropical-matured oak. One taster nailed the smell as glue, polish and "fresh banana bread." The heat is well tucked in, but it still scorches the throat. Long, drying, herbal finish.
The community says- Grilled pineapple, ester
- Superb alcohol integration
- Long drying finish
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The look inside the bottle
How does Velier Clarendon Exclusive for Guiseppe Begnoni EMB 1997 taste?
Summarized by AI from community reviews.
Intense, wood-driven old Jamaican pot still Something close to a favorite Monymusk for many — intense, fruity and wood-driven with superb alcohol integration. A few find it too woody, spicy or short-finishing versus the 1995.
Aroma profileExperienced fans of high-ester, wood-driven old Jamaican rum
Beginners and anyone put off by heat, wood and glue notes
Style & occasion: Tropical & funkyMature & oakySipping neat
Full aroma profile Aroma families · nose & palate · top aromas
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Community voices
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82 community reviews
27 selected write-ups on this page, all of them in the RumX app
Top 3% of Jamaica rumsTop 2% at Clarendon
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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 Mirco
Most helpful positive review
One or the top shot of the EMB Vintages... (pre 2000) This rum is also at the top of a line-up of high-flyers. Insanely complex with typical mint, menthol, wood but also beautiful tropical fruit. Slightly less bitter than the competition.
Review by Maarten Leewis 🇳🇱
Most helpful mixed review
Good, not my type of rum
Review by Jakob
Again a tad rounder than Velier's Monymusk 1995. Great profile with a dose of extra power that doesn't come at the expense of overly strong alcohol. Aromatic with inspiring depth and balance. Extremely impressive.
Review by Serge
Sensationally fruity nose that just explodes. So many individual aromas that are present at the same time but still distinguishable. Besides the spices, caramel, wood notes, and leather, the fruity side is especially extremely diverse. And behind the well-stocked fruit stand (tropical & continental) there’s also a misty note of well-ripened jackfruit. Delicious. On the palate, more menthol and wood—as expected. But still fruity. For me, the nose scores around 9.4, the palate more like 9.0... I give it a 9.2.
Review by Giorgio Garotti
Dark, intense with a beautiful grilled pineapple part and hints of charred barrel! The anise is very present and the hints of coffee give it a nice hint of bitterness! For those who like things out of the 'ordinary must drink this monymusk!
Review by Oliver
Wow, what a mega nose - ripe and elegant. I like it much better than the EMB from Habitation Velier.
Review by Joachim Guger
Super horny nose. Solvent, glue, polish, old dresser and then fresh banana bread. Dried fruit, tropical fruit. Warm, full, complex and slightly pungent alcohol.Warm, full, fat and oily in the mouth. Great barrel maturity, more than decent for its age and considering the time spent in the tropics. Alcohol very well integrated but still burns out the throat.Finishes with oak and herbs. Great monymusk and great Jamaican. Tasted together with the 1995. This is a lot more mature and barrel dominated, much less fruity.
Review by TheRhumhoe
A true avant-garde, this Clarendon is a nugget that already foreshadowed the bright future of Clarendon today. The nose is particularly appealing, with exotic fruit, dried fruit and hints of cherry. The oak goes hand in hand with roasted notes, tobacco and cocoa. The spices are varied and intense (cinnamon, vanilla, pepper, chili, aniseed and clove). If there's a medicinal edge to the esters, glue and varnish, the caramel and pastries add a little roundness. Aeration gives a complex, very harmonious profile. The attack on the palate is extremely powerful, first herbaceous and minty, then bitter with tannins, before medicinal notes take over. The woodiness is very intense, with roasted notes, cocoa and espresso coffee. The spiciness comes through strongly with hints of anise, cinnamon, pepper and vanilla. Tropical fruit and caramel are more distant. The alcohol is well integrated but still perceptible. It's best to take precautions. The finish is almost eternal, with a vast aromatic spectrum: exotic fruitiness, bitter tannins, ester and glue notes, menthol, tobacco, black tea, spicy heat and woody, roasted notes offer a grand spectacle that stuns the palate. A very complex and intense rum that requires patience and experience to be fully appreciated.
Review by Benoit Mahe
A surprising nose where you first find the mark of a long aging (wood, leather, cocoa, almond, walnut) well balanced (tobacco, chili, anise) before moving to a much more Jamaican profile (tropical fruits: papaya). The palate is in the same vein. The finish is long and drying. A very beautiful rum. In a way, this rum reminds me of a Port Mourant.
Review by zabo
In comparison today, two EMBs from Velier. RX432 (Warren Khong 1995) and RX674 (Guiseppe Begoni 1997) both are very complex and good. In comparison, I think that the 1997 vintage is a little ahead here. But both are excellent in my opinion, although they are different in taste, which is very fascinating.
Review by TheJona'Spirits
Bottle kill at a friend's place. The aeration certainly rounded it off. In any case, I got a burst of perfectly ripe tropical fruits, a magnificent spicy woodiness, and an unshakable freshness, alcohol very well integrated. Can't wait to hunt it down and open it! New note: best EMB pre-2000, best 1997 neck and neck with the Fine Drams. Better than the 1995s. Everything is concentrated in this blend, compared to many recent more "continental" releases where the markers are lighter. Almost no bitterness. Really one of the best releases of its kind. Concentration, fruitiness, ripe, woody, spices, freshness...
Review by crazyforgoodbooze
Very nice EMB, although nowhere near as amazingly complex and fruity as the 95. I find especially the lychee, mint, sandalwood, and chocolate notes extremely exciting, but it takes quite some time to fully open up! The meaty note, however, is not for everyone. The finish is relatively short compared to other EMBs... Otherwise, the rating would be higher.
Review by Kevin Sorensen 🇩🇰
I just got this bottle today and I just had to have a go at it right away and wow, just wow, close to the perfect rum for me :-) The nose is wonderfully fruity from opening the bottle and while it was resting I had to sniff it several times. Besides fruits there is spices and barrel with a touch of esters and varnish. The palate is matching the nose and then some. Intense and warm as well as well balanced and complex. Fruits and spices from the start then chocolate, tea, coffee and ester. The finish is forever with oak, spices, coffee and some orange peel to top it off.
Review by DomM
This is just insanely good stuff. Alcohol integration is superb which puts the Velier (from memory) in the top spot for the 97 EMBs. Looking forward to the cross tasting of this beautiful vintage.
Review by Tom Buteneers
Bottle 298/442. Nicely balanced, exceptional rum. SDR23
Review by Frank
Intense, beautiful and fruity-spicy nose. Very full and round. Here again the dried, sulfured apricot is in the foreground. Behind it sour cherry, currant, pineapple and raisin. Sweetness of bitter forest honey and vanilla. On the palate I first get a bitter-sweet character and immediately also bitter-spicy-salty. Then some fruity notes of passion fruit and papaya come in. Nutmeg and vanilla underline the woody tone as well. At the back there is some tea and mint. The finish remains woody fruity and goes towards black tea with mint. Great, old Monymusk!
Review by Manuel
Absolute power and strength that this rum unfolds. Simply brilliant.
Review by Beach-and-Rum 🏖️🌴
Strong Monymusk. Incredibly intense. Tropical fruits, esters combined with a solid cask influence. Very nice creamy mouthfeel. The nearly 70% ABV is very well integrated. Many thanks Manuel for the sample :)
Review by Buddudharma
Great 97 EMB. Compared to Rum Sponge and Fine Drams, a bit fruitier, but less wood and ester/glue notes. Great stuff, for me on par with Fine Drams; Rum Sponge is a notch more complex and complete.
Review by Martin Spooner
Wow ... insane bombshell. Really wonderful to be able to try something like this.
Review by Pavel Spacek
Good and typical Monymusk..
Review by ArminK
Wow, what a nose. Fruit with wood, a lot is coming my way. Yes, it delivers what it promises. Tropical fruits pineapple mango some plum and many spices. The woody part is there but very pleasant.
Review by Joël
Very cool piece. With nearly 70% it already delivers a lot of depth and finish. Unfortunately, I'm not so fond of flavor notes like woody and spicy.
Review by Filip Šikula
Diamond Advent Calendar RFC 2025
Review by mick
This rum is breathtaking, seductive but a bit shy on the nose, yet it hides its game. The attack is perfect, less on the alcohol than the 1995, at almost identical degrees, it slowly explodes in the mouth, a noble depth tinged with magnificent tannins, its long aging gives it Trinidadian flavors. In the battle of kings, I understand that some prefer the 95 Paradisetto but this one is so classy, a soft and royal rum, like the packaging.
Review by Richard Krupa
Estery, fruit, and sweet spices. At the end of the taste, I sense tea and a slight tingling on the tongue.
Review by Gaspard
Top class!
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Expert reviews
6 critics scored it, averaging 9.2/10. Reviews from RumX's blog partners, independent experts who have tasted, evaluated, and described this rum.
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Community shelf
81 bottles logged by 61 collectors.
A collector's bottle.
14% opened, 1 emptied.
What did the community pay for Velier Clarendon Exclusive for Guiseppe Begnoni EMB 1997?
Community paid 240–496 €.
Purchase prices reported by members, not a shop price. Avg. 438 €. Full price & collection history in RX+ →
81 purchased · 85 tasted · 57 wishlist · as of
Details about Velier Clarendon Exclusive for Guiseppe Begnoni EMB 1997
A Pot Still Rum from Jamaica, bottled by Velier, at 67.9%.
Read on in the RumX Guide
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