Plantation Fiji Island 20 Year Old Hoppe Bottling (45.8%)

This is a 20 year old aged rum from Fiji, bottled by John Hoppe in collaboration with Plantation. It is the second bottling the two have made together, and only 138 bottles have been released. The rum comes from the pot still at the Rum Co. of Fiji, after a fermentation of four to five days. It spent 19 years in bourbon casks and almost a year in Ferrand cognac casks, then finished with four months in Rozelieures single malt whisky casks. It is bottled at 45.8% vol. The nose is intense, with custard, banana flambé, peach, hazelnut, quince and a touch of seaweed, moving on to marzipan and orange. On the palate it is tropical, gently smoky and fresh, with passion fruit, citrus, vanilla, mint and eucalyptus over a mineral, charcoal base.