Kirk and Sweeney Kirk and Sweeney 23 Year Dominican Rum NV 750ml

Aged between 6 and 25 years, look for a deep amber hue and bold caramel and toffee aromas. Pleasing brown sugar and toffee entwine with hints of salted caramel and raisin on the palate. The gentle, warming finish holds allspice, cocoa powder and clove, drying to a walnut tone.

Auburn/henna color; unblemished, sediment-free purity. I pick up more woodiness in this opening aroma than the 18 year old which was much more candied, but I also detect a deep molasses fragrance here as well; second inhalations after further aeration uncover hints of saddle leather, cooking oil, charred wood, campfire embers; this bouquet is nowhere near as assertive as the 18. Entry is succulent, unabashedly sweet but not cloying, chewy in texture, oaky, sap-like, maple-like; midpalate features more of the oak polymers in the forms of acidity and sap, but the overall taste impression is of elegance, grace, depth of character. I preferred the 18 due to its wildly long menu of attributes and its verve but this is a stately rum of genuine class.