Holmes Cay
”Captain BrownBeard 2, Dead Hog’s Chest”
Travellers Distillery, Belize
Private Single Barrel Rum
15 Years Old
Barrel #39
Distilled in 2006
Bottled 2021
15 Years Old
61%, 122 Proof

Our latest barrel of Holmes Cay is in and it’s incredible! When we got that first barrel from Belize, we knew we were in love. It was dark and funky and just a whole new angle on rum that we’d never experienced before.

If the last one was a crazy unique random funk-bomb, this one is like the mainstream hit version. It’s less funky, with less of the herbal exotic stuff going on, and a lot more classic rum sweetness. It’s got huge peanuts and chocolate, like a snicker bar. It’s creamy and rich. Lovely sweet candy bars and nuts. Then it goes into coffee, mocha flavors. Haagen Daas coffee ice cream.

The palate is rich and powerful. This is definitely a well-aged, high proof flavorbomb. It’s oily and combines well-honeyed chamomile tea, some ripe stone fruits - apricots & plums, a little citrus like orange sections with the rind, and some big spice and tartness. There’s a LOT of taste here, it’s absolutely overflowing with big bright flavor.

The finish is uber-long for a rum. Very warm, sweet, and building into a pleasant warmth. The fruits and the coffee end with a deep oak for a long graceful aftertaste.

Another stunner from Holmes Cay. They continue to help us reimagine what rum can be. Again, this tastes nothing like most of the typical rum you can buy on the shelf. It’s a completely different animal. Really something you need to have on your bar whenever a rum enthusiast comes over. And if you still are hanging on to a bottle of Brownbeard #1, putting these back-to-back is totally unreal.