Temptryst rums are produced by Texas based Au Natural Spirits Inc, which is run by the president and head of research, Daniel Watson. Coveted by the connoisseurs at the Ministry of Rum and Refined Vices, Temptryst rums have quickly gained a reputation despite the fact that these rums are still relatively unknown to the wider audience and not yet on the market. For instance Cherry Wood XO won a gold award at the Ministry of Rum tasting competition amongst other award winning Temptryst rums. Such appreciation can only promise good fortune for the upcoming rum brand.

I've read a lot about Daniel Watson’s interesting line of rums such as the Cherry Wood, Mesquite and the Lemon Wood that was gifted to me by Mr. Watson, which has left me honoured to be the first one to be reviewing his first Lemon Wood batch today.

I don't have much knowledge about Lemon Wood but what I do know is that it is rum aged in actual wood of a lemon tree and that it has no artificial flavours and it gets its colour and flavour from the lemon tree itself. I should say that I do not know the age of this rum because Mr. Watson did not want to bias anyone’s opinion by stating the age and I can respect that decision, after all, one should never ask the age of a beautiful lady either.

Temptryst Lemon Wood Rum sample is packed in a square glass bottle with a yellow tint. Note that this packaging does no represent the final packaging of Temptryst Lemon Wood Rum that will hopefully some day be available for consumers.

Appearance

Opening this unmarked bottle makes me feel a little like a pirate who has just found an old rum runners stash on a deserted island. I suppressed my piratical urge to swig straight from the bottle, however, and I poured the dark amber coloured rum into a glass and gave it a gentle swirl which created several drippy legs that disappeared quite quickly.

Nose

A quick whiff from the moist cork reveals lemon and tar. In the glass the tar is quite a bit stronger with underlying lemon. The rum has a very gentle yet robust aroma that has my nose trying to identify all the intriguing aromas. Lemon Wood has one of the smoothest noses with no burn from the alcohol unless you inhale very deeply, but even then it is not enough to make you blink.

Taste

Temptryst Lemon Wood has a very smooth texture that feels like velvet sliding on the tongue, a sweet smoky taste that spreads gentle warmth around the mouth releasing flavours of lemon across the palate while tingling on the tip of the tongue.

Aftertaste

The finish is very rounded and dry with faintly lingering lemon in the palate, as well as some minor coffee notes and smoke.

Final thoughts

After letting the rum breathe for a while, the tar has mellowed down and the lemon has become more evident in the nose and it also appears there are now brown sugar aromas in the mix. Some people might be intimidated when I mention tar but in my opinion it is not a negative but a different kind of quality in this rum.

Overall Temptryst Lemon Wood Rum is pleasing and delivers admirable consistency all the way from the nose to the finish.

Country: U.S. Texas

Aged: Unknown

www.temptryst.com

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