Review #776/777; Rum #204/205: Velier/ E&A Scheer Monmyusk 14yr Tropical vs Continental

This is a cool rum collaboration between Velier (that great Italian IB) and E&A Scheer those rum sourcing folks. They took some rum from Monymusk and bottled it. However, these are the same rum with the same Marque that have been aged an identical set of time. The major difference was the climate as one bottle was aged in Europe and the other in the Tropics. EMB has an ester content of 125-175 g/hlpa. Let us see how it turned out.

I attempted to have these semi-blind and had a 3rd-party pour these for me. As you can see form the color, however, without Opaque glens it was a dead giveaway. These were bottled at cask strength with no color added.

Central Ohio Glencairn (MMW EMB Continental)

ABV: 64.8%

Nose: Pencil Shavings, Vanilla, Mango, Allspice, Black Pepper

Palate: Vanilla, Pencil Shavings, Mango, Allspice, black Pepper

Finish: Medium length finish, Pencil Shavings, Mango, Allspice, Black Pepper

Rating: 5/10

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Blank Glencairn (MMW EMB Tropical)

ABV: 69.7%

Nose: Raspberries, Charred Pineapple, Vanilla Cream, Nutmeg, Star Anise

Palate: Thick oily mouthfeel, Banana, Charred Pineapple, Vanilla Cream, Nutmeg, Star Anise

Finish: Medium length finish, Nutmeg, Black Pepper, Banana, Charred Pineapple, Star Anise, Vanilla, Black Tea

Rating: 7/10

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Conclusion: Whew this was fun thing to try to do blind. The color gave this away (I have no opaque glasses for this) . The tropical just kicked the continental all over the place, with the heavy tropical fruit notes and spices for the tropical version just making it the superior one. That pencil shavings notes really brought down the continental version for me. This is a really fun exercise that I wish was more widely available for people to try to see how different tropical and continental ageing is. Now is tropical ageing always superior? I would say no as I have had continental aged rum that is quite good. However I would give preference to rum being tropically aged and bottled by the folks that produce it.

1 | Disgusting | So bad I poured it out.

2 | Poor | I wouldn’t consume by choice.

3 | Bad | Multiple flaws.

4 | Sub-par | Not bad, but better exists.

5 | Good | Good, just fine.

6 | Very Good | A cut above.

7 | Great | Well above average

8 | Excellent | Really quite exceptional.

9 | Incredible | An all time favorite

10 | Perfect | Perfect