We have a friend who regularly goes to Barbados for a holiday. The other day we joined him and his wife at their place for a meal. At the end of a delicious meal our friend got out a bottle of St Nicholas Abbey rum which had spent 20 years in the cask. As I am now a diabetic, I have to limit my alcohol consumption especially after two small glasses of wine with a meal. I asked him to pour a minuscule of this most expensive liquor so that I could smell and taste a little. This rum is very expensive in London, and a bottle of this superior 20 year old will set you back over £500. It is cheaper in Barbados but still remains expensive.
Imagine my surprise when I sipped this rum; it did not taste foul and tasted very good, my sense of taste was coming back. My sense of smell had also improved enormously and I was able to smell cinnamon, apples, oranges and spices just as the producer described. I was delighted.
https://stnicholasabbey.com/Rum/Our-Rums/
This was the best rum I have ever tasted , not that I have sampled many. My friend also produced the remnants of other bottles that he had brought back.. The twenty year old tasted and smelt by far the best. We both agreed that the 23 year which is much more expensive, was inferior to the 20 year old. A 15 year old bottle came close and so did a 12 year old. It just goes to show how important branding is when deciding the price of a spirit or a wine. The age of the drink does not always mean that an older "vintage" will taste better. Spirits do not improve in the bottle with age unlike wine. If you age a wine for too long it can ruin the taste no matter what the brand is or how expensive it is. This was a marvellous tasting session even though I had to sip minuscule amounts of the rums.
I was relieved that my sense of taste is returning, and now I can just about appreciate white wine.
Last night my wife and I shared half a bottle of Château Lanessan 2015 red. I could recognise that it was a Bordeaux but I could not go much further than that in assessing the quality or provenance of the wine. I still have a long way to go and I fear that my sense of taste will never return to normal. Hopefully, my fears are unfounded, as the full taste of wine is such a pleasure for me.
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