Photo of
April 3, 2013
Legacy of Angostura - best kept for sipping rather making a punch
Legacy of Angostura – best kept for sipping rather making a punch

The 5pm Restaurant blog spent a very enjoyable chunk of yesterday at The Balmoral Hotel tasting Legacy by Angostura.

Billed as the world’s most expensive rum, it sells at $25,000 per 50cl bottle. Only twenty bottles have been released. I say ‘bottle’ but that doesn’t really do the containers  justice.

Crystal decanter

Each flask is actually an individually blown crystal decanter topped with a sterling silver finial.

They come in a presentation box which was handmade by Asprey of London from red calf leather, silk and velvet. It’s about as far from being offered a poly bag at the off-licence as its possible to get.

Legacy of Angostura - hide if you're having a party
Legacy of Angostura – best hide the bottle if you’re having a party

50th anniversary of Independence

Launched to celebrate the 50th anniversary of independence in Trinidad, the rum is a blend of seven Angostura rums; the youngest of which is seventeen-years-old. Apparently, it took Angostura’s blenders some five years just to decide which blend of rums would make the best expression of Angostura.

So what does it taste of? Distilled unicorn tears with a hint of rainbow? A Russian oligarch’s serotonin? For $25k, it has to be something exceptional and it is.

Honey, coffee and spice

A dark, oaky amber in colour, it is honeyed on the nose and, while none of the official tasting notes mention it, I got a little beeswax. Dried fruit, nuts, spice and woody notes are all in there when you eventually taste it. Caramelised orange, dried sultanas, toffee and rich coffee flavours also get a mention.

Deliciously syrupy and viscous on the palate, it has an exceptionally long finish. As Angostura’s Master Distiller John Georges put it, ‘You could chew on that forever’.

I would quite happily chew on it again but fear that Mrs Blog may not be best pleased if I remortgaged the flat in order to get a bottle in.

Will anyone actually buy Legacy of Angostura and drink it? Possibly. According to Mr Georges, it was designed to be drunk rather than bought as an investment and locked away.

Best in show

He likens it to a very limited edition sports car. It’s not a mass market product but rather an example of what that car manufacturer, or distiller, can produce when they really set their minds to it. It is a demonstration of the best they can do.

If you really want to try Legacy of Angostura but don’t fancy forking out $25k then Salvatore at Playboy in London’s Mayfair is selling it at £4000 a glass. Admittedly, that’s still not a snip unless you are a Premier League footballer but it’s easy to imagine a couple of nips being slipped on to a high flying city boy’s expense account.

Back in the real world, most of us will happily make do with Angostura’s 1824, a fine rum which can be bought for around £30 in some supermarkets.

I’m just happy to have tasted Legacy by Angostura and, when I’m old and toothless, I shall enjoy re-running the story time and time again for my companions in the Sunset Retirement facility.

If I start saving now then I might be able to buy a nip at Salvatore’s joint just before I enter the old folks’ home.

Master Distiller John Georges gets his nose into Legacy
Master Distiller John Georges gets his nose into Legacy