Mezan Jamaican Barrique XO Rum, 70 cl

Product Information

When sipped it is as expected from the nosing but the ABV gives this an extra ooomph. This really adds even further depth to the rum. This rum has been matured in ex-bourbon barrels, aside from the last year where the rum was moved into an PX Sherry cask for the “finish” or secondary maturation. It was distilled in 2007 and bottled in 2019 and is noted as being aged 12 years. It was aged in Europe for 9 of these years. All this information is provided on the bottles rear label. As you can see. The nose on this rum is full of Dunder and Jamaican Pot Still “funk”. For those un accustomed to such rums this may not immediately appeal. For those, like myself who know how well such rums work in mixed drinks and as occasional sippers it will be a welcome and familiar aroma. In the glass Mezan Diamond Distillery Guyana 2007 PX Cask Finish is a very dark brown almost mahogany in colour.

There is so much going on with this rum, it’s difficult to describe everything that you will encounter. This drinks more like a Tropically Aged Demerara than a lot of other IB’s, I have had recently. This is a rich, fruity rum which shows just how rum really doesn’t need to be artificially sweetened. A secondary maturation or finish in a quality cask will give you all the sweetness you need.

Mezan Diamond Distillery Guyana 2007 PX Cask Finish. I’ve not been reviewing a great deal of Independent Bottlings of late. I’m not going to pretend I’m wearing some kind of halo and advocating Distillery Bottlings. Thing is though, with the likes of Foursquare, Worthy Park and Hampden Estate producing so many of their own bottlings over the past few years, I’ve found my buying habits pointing more in that direction.

I cannot remember the last Mezan rum I reviewed. I’ve reviewed 6 so far. 2 actually from Guyana. In terms of my experience with Mezan Rum, it has been mixed. I really enjoyed their Panama expressions and the continuous release the Mezan Jamaica XO. Others bottlings not so keen.It may be, that some of the notes I have written might give people and impression of overbearing sweetness. This is a similar profile to the likes of Foursquares Exceptional Cask Series. Sweet but not sweetened. Over the past few years a debate has focused around the practice of adding sugar and other additives during the production of rum. For many such alterations are viewed as entirely unacceptable. With the XO and vintage bottlings my preference is to offer people a product that they can drink straight. After thirty years of tasting professionally I personally never drink anything at cask strength so perhaps this has coloured my choice. This is not to say that we will not produce at other strengths but it will depend greatly on the liquid. One other point is that with no ‘enrichment’, the natural flavour is quite prominent, we continue to try to make this one of the major points in our selections. At least that is what the first sip gives you. It’s worth persisting beyond one glass with this rum. It’s almost as if your palate needs to open up to it. The second glass is so much better. You get more of the notes that were in the nose. Despite being quite high in esters and some “funk” it has a beautiful balance which younger Jamaican rums do not have. It’s similar in many ways to Hampden Gold for example yet it also shares some of the qualities of more aged Appleton Estate rums. The finish is still pretty short but as a Jamaican sipper its not bad at the price. Mezan have been producing this rum blend for some years now and this is Lot No 23030 – this Lot or Batch consists of 5000 bottles. It states on the rear bottle that the rum is double matured so once it is blended it is re-casked until it is selected to be bottled.

Mezan Jamaica XO is, unlike all the other Mezan rums a blend rather than a Single Barrel/Cask offering. Not only is it a blend of rums it is also a blend of rums from different distilleries. Beneath this, is a warming note of oak and some light vanilla ice cream. A touch of single cream and a slight peanut brittle type note. I’m getting shortbread and baking spices as well. It’s remarkably complex. It’s really lovely on the nose.

Well, I think I’ve given all the information I have on this particular bottling and I’m getting a bit thirsty. So lets see how this went down……… Apart from wishing to put out unadultered rum what were the main visions for Mezan as a company when you first started out? Over the years has anything changed?

As the rum moves onto the finish, you notice a shift and the sweeter notes are replaced by some tannic red wine and liquorice notes. The finish is very long and warming with a lovely array of oak spices, vanilla, dark chocolate and a smoky tobacco note.

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In the Caribbean, known as much for its idyllic beaches as for its deep-rooted rum traditions, a spectrum of aromas and styles has evolved, unique to each island and each distillery. Mezan's selection, meticulously curated by the cellar master, brings forward this rich diversity, offering rums that represent the purest expression of the Caribbean's rum-making heritage.