Compagnie des Indes 2003 Trinidad 16-Year 16-Year

Abv: 63,8
Age: 16
Single cask TRDG14, 283 bottles

Medical nose with vanilla first, his rum needs time in the glas. After 15min it opens up.
The nose is lightly sweet, bright with some medical notes, white oak, grains, vanilla, grasy notes, dry fruits and pepper. I expected much more dirty flavors, like in the 19y TDL from rum Artesanal. But I got just some leather. This don't meet my expectations, after the 19y Artesanal I'm a little bit disappointed.

The taste starts with some sweetness and medical notes with grains, the alcohol is rising and tingels in my mouth. Then I got wood, tannins and vanilla. As the rum became warm, some caramel comes on my palet and again, vanilla, the tannins from the wood, some earth and some grains. At the end I get grasy and peppery notes.
The finish starts with spice and tannins, white oak, herbs, vanilla and prune. I'm not excited, this was again behind my expectations.
The aftertaste is not very intensive. There is some mint, also some leather that I was missing in the body, some tannins and dry fruits after some time.

This rum is strong, the alcohol is tingeling all the time in my mouth (must be continental aging). I can enjoy it, but it's not a great rum for me. This cask was not the best one and behind my expectations for a 16y old TDL.
It's not great and not bad, therefore I would rate it with 77 points.

Nose: grains, medical note, vanilla, dry fruits, grasy notes, white oak, wild leather, pepper
Initial taste: some light sweetness, grains, medicine, dry fruit, wood, tannins, vanilla
Middle: some caramel, vanilla, tannins, some earth, grains, pepper
Finish: spice, tannins, white oak, herbs, vanilla, prune
Aftertaste: some mint, some leather, some tannins, dry fruits

Sweetness: 1.5/5
Fruits: 1.5/5
Spice: 4/5
Mildness: 1.5/5
Complexity: 3.5/5
Value 127€: 2/5
Experience level: expert (quite strong alcohol influence, not easy to enjoy)

It’s a very high alcohol rate Rum, 63.5%, but it’s probably the smoothest full proof I’ve ever tried. The alcohol kick in typical of this kind or product is still there: you have to drink it slowly and in very small sips. The first note is the warm feeling of the alcohol evaporating in your mouth, which is then carrying over all the flavours: a caramel note, vanilla, a full note tropical fruit, in particular mango, and a final fresh note (mint?). This final freshness is almost impossible to find in this kind of product and it’s one of the reasons I gave it a high rating. Probably one of the best full proof I’ve ever tried