Precious Liquors Long Pond RUM Jamaica (Selected by The Bottle Shop) VRW 2005

We taste a jamaican with measured esters. We're at the top of our game. Perfect balance between a greedy, woody frame and a solvent that quickly fades to leave room for very ripe tropical fruit. In this category of rum, it's really top-notch.

Wonderful multi-layered Long Pond with tropical fruit and wood/barrel. Beautiful coconut, milk chocolate and vanilla. Well-integrated alcohol. Ester content meets balance and complexity perfectly here.

Re-evaluated and freshly poured: Definitely on a par with the RumX bottling, although not 100% identical in my opinion. Coconut, passion fruit, mint and subtly bacony umami and very pleasant to drink. A moderately good long pond with a fabulous PLV!

From memory I would say there is really no difference to the RumX bottling. Same high level. In any case, a super barrel selection. A direct comparison will follow with the RX20000 and the NRJ bottling. Then I will report back.

The sister barrel to the RX20000. No idea what I wrote there, but it's probably very similar ;-) Sweetish nose, vanilla, coconut and caramel. Tropical fruit, spice and mint on the palate. Top.

Nose: the rum remains closed for quite a long time, it's not easy for me to get past the glue, varnish and alcohol at first. After about 20 minutes, the rum opens up much better. It seems quite mild to me for a 2005 VRW. Notes such as caramel, coconut, bourbon and light roasted notes predominate, subtly fruity. Not at all typical of Long Pond on the palate. Much reminds me of Belize and Foursquare - only much more intense than those. Additionally, more fruit but less than expected. Also the typical Long Pond umami note: more in the background. Finish: very long and a little bit of everything - very balanced! Very good rum that gains a lot with time in the glass! Very balanced and complex. I'm not sure if I would have blindly guessed Long Pond! After another 30 minutes, the rum becomes much fruitier and gets a fruity touch like some old Clarendon EMBs have! Great class, another 2 points!

Very intense and powerful in the nose, starting off with glue and woody as well as umami notes. With some time to breath, a nice basket of tropical fruits shows up to the party. Very good. Very good 👍 rich and complex on the palate as well. Plenty of funk and power. Intense tropical fruits but much less overwhelming compared to tropically aged STC*Es. One could almost call this elegant - mind you that obviously depends on your personal preference of ester levels. Excellent bottling all in all.

A nose of overripe tropical fruits, decadent pastries and cedar wood. Lively on the palate, then everything falls into place: overripe fruit, cedar wood and incredible sweetness. The finish is long, balanced and supported by bitter sweetness.

Really very close to the RX20000 ... I've just tried it solo and haven't tasted it in parallel yet. But the two rums are identical from memory. But I will try them again side by side. In any case, both are excellent value for money.

Three different VRW LP 2005 bottlings in the glass today. Bottle store & RumX Community: They are very similar in profile and very complex. For me, the Community bottling is a little more intense and voluminous on the palate. The Whisky blues: Also very complex and somewhat spicy. More astringent on the palate than its competitors and longer on the finish. Much woodier and with more chocolate notes, but a little less fruit. All three brilliant rums!

In direct comparison with the RumX Bottling, I find it difficult to discern any differences. The Bottleshop bottling perhaps has a little more of the cask (for whatever reason...?) and the RumX bottling has a slightly floral note. All in all, however, I think they are both very good 2005 VRWs!

Tropical fruits on the nose, very intense, almost a little like boiled down. Also glue, caramel and the meaty, sour note typical of (tropical) LPs. Lots of spiciness on the palate, long finish. Great bottling and on a par with the RdL VRW 2005, which I had at 88 points.

Excellent juice 😍😍😍 Tropical fruits galore, a touch of "meat", cinnamon, coconut cinnamon, coconut, sental, spices, dark chocolate and caramel make up this 18-year-old LP. It glides along on its own, and after a very long half-hour of aeration, all the potential is there. I love it, clearly!

Tested directly against the RX20000. I imagine that I can feel a very slight difference to the RX20000. Both bottlings are brutally good, but I give it 88/100, just behind RX20000

This Long Pond has a powerful, fruity profile. Vanilla, tropical fruit, citrus notes and a hint of wet barrel mingle on the nose, accompanied by a slight alcohol kick. Fruity and intense on the palate, with notes of glue, fine sweetness, some rhubarb and chocolate. The texture is velvety and slightly fluffy. The finish is warm, fruity and long. Less complex than the RumX bottling, but more powerful and direct in expression overall.