Overview
Brand: Habitation Velier
Origin: Long Pond Distillers Ltd., Clark's Town, Trelawny, Jamaica
Still: Pot
Age: 15 years
Finish: ex-Bourbon
ABV: 58%
Last year, Habitation Velier released a number of single cask expressions of pot still rum, including several from Monymusk (Clarendon distillery), Hampden, and Long Pond. The bottle in front of me today comes from the latter distiller, one of the lesser-known distilleries, as their production was halted for a number of years during the 2010s.
Habitation Velier Long Pond STCE 2007 is a molasses-based, pot still rum produced at Long Pond in Clark's Town. It was fermented and distilled to meet the specifications of the STCE marque, also known as "STC<3E". This marque signifies an ester count of 500-700 g/hLAA and was originally created by Simon Thompson at the now-closed Cambridge rum estate.
This bottle is from ex-Bourbon single cask #10, which was aged for 15 years at the distillery before bottling at 58% ABV for the US market.
Appearance
Auburn, medium-high viscosity
Nose
Rotting bananas, grilled pineapples, spiced red apples, jackfruit, kiwi, apricot fruit leather, model glue, hint of hazelnut
Palate
Rotting banana and pineapple, kiwi, raspberries, crisp red apples, jackfruit, apricot fruit leather
Finish
Long, spicy, fruity; rotting pineapple, jackfruit, banana peel, cinnamon, cola spice, vanilla
Rating: 9/10
Summary
This bottle definitely cements Long Pond as one of my favorite rum distilleries, and STC<3E as one of my favorite marques. The hallmarks from both the producer and the marque are singing in this single cask.
Rotting bananas, grilled pineapples (on the nose this comes in the form of clear Lifesavers), jackfruit, and apricot fruit leather are the common threads throughout the tasting experience, which starts off with an explosive nose, and narrows through the palate and the finish.
There's also spice elements of cinnamon, cola, and vanilla to join in with the multitude of tropical fruits. The only drawback in my opinion is that there is a little too much oak influence, which subdues some of the fruit notes, and causes this to drink a little hotter.
Long Pond STCE 2007 is a fantastic bottle, and very happy I was able to secure a bottle. Cask #10 is as good as everybody said it was, and I'm hoping this isn't the last we see of Long Pond or STC<3E from Habitation Velier.