Aroma visualization from community tastings
Velier Long Pond Cambridge STC❤️E 2005
Glue, varnish and overripe pineapple hit first, then a wave of tropical and dried fruit, marzipan, cinnamon and roasted oak. This is the STC❤️E mark with 18 tropical years on it, and members love how the wood rounds off the funk without burying it. Several call it their favorite Long Pond. At 60% it drinks softer than the number suggests, but the ester punch is real.
The community says- Balanced ester funk
- Rich tropical fruit
- But: Slight bitterness
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The look inside the bottle
How does Velier Long Pond Cambridge STC❤️E 2005 taste?
Aggregated from 162 community reviews.
Mature, funky Jamaican with glue and fruit Adored by Long Pond fans as a balanced, mature take on high-ester funk — glue, tropical fruit and oak in harmony. A few find the wood or bitterness slightly heavy; nobody questions the quality.
Long Pond and high-ester funk devotees
Anyone new to Jamaican glue-and-solvent funk
How the community classifies this rum. Each category takes you to similar rums.
Which glass for which rum? The community guide →
64 of 162 left detailed tasting impressions · Click an aroma to explore similar rums
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How is Velier Long Pond Cambridge STC❤️E 2005 rated?
RumX’s 0–10 scale is strict: 8.9 sits in the “Very good” band. 99% of tasters rate it Good or better; only 0% rate it below average. See the full rating guide →
Community voices
What does the community say?
98% rate it 8 or higher. 49 selected write-ups from 162 community ratings. You can view the complete list in our app.
Review by Aussierumfan
Wow this is just really good Jamaica! So complex and flavoursome, yet more rounded and mature compared to the little brother 2010 released earlier. Esters and funk, lots of Glue and solvents, then a mouthful of tropical & dried fruits. Perfectly aged with a touch of well balanced wood influence. A wonderfully long finish. A must try for jamaica fans!
Review by crazyforgoodbooze
Most helpful positive review
What a board.... Overripe fermented mango, salty lime, subtle marzipan and slightly meaty notes meet esters, varnish and glue. Incredibly dense and thick viscosity, salty, bitter fruity and heavy. I love this juicy lime aroma paired with umami bbq notes and overripe baked banana, as well as cinnamon and mint and mango lassi! Extremely long finish, incredibly delicious and complex! So delicious. Probably one of the best Jamaica rums of this year! Only the 2005 TECA is as great... For me probably one of the best and at the same time most extreme Long Ponds ever!
Review by Pavel Spacek
Most helpful mixed review
First it is pure esters and then turn to sweet taste and remains
Review by Oliver
Lots of marzipan and varnish on the nose. Incredibly intense and complex on the palate. Slightly acidic, spicy and fruity. The 18 years of tropical maturation produce an absolute top release. One of my highlights at Whisky Live Paris 2023.
Review by DomM
Nose is an explosion of flavors. Funky with esters, fruits and ample notes of solvents and marzipan. Also quite some wood once you are past the chemical notes. Compared to the 2010 release, this is much more mature, dark and closed up at the beginning. While you get full ester goodness, this is more balanced compared to the 2010 and less agreesiv (comparatively that is, of course!) Very nice on the palate as well. This is - in the most possible way - soft, balanced and elegant. Yet don’t take this wrong. There is still plenty of funk. Complex fruits (tropical as well as dried - I get some cherry here) mingling with wood and esters. This is very rich and the long tropical aging delivers brilliantly, presenting a dark and heavy rum without being overly wood forward or bitter in the slightest. Excellent! On the palate the 2010 is more playful and the ester notes are much more punchy. Much more adstringent and „in your face“. Both brilliant but rather different sipping experiences old and dark versus funk forwards. Both great. Compared to the younger 2005 NRJ bottling, both clearly share the same DNA. The additional years of tropical aging clearly transformed the profile towards darker and woody notes. Esters are much more tamed with dried fruits being more present in the mix.
Review by zabo
Edit: tried it again today in MaiTai with the TWJ LP STC♡E. The mega hit Wow, what a great rum. Very tasty. I only tasted it briefly between sampling. Tasted it once shortly after pouring and then forgot to finish it. After more than an hour in the glass, I think it has improved a lot. But a comparison with the other Cambridge is still pending.
Review by cigares
A rum tasted at the WLP. A nose of marzipan and glue with dried fruit. On the palate, there's glue, vegetal and quite a lot of bitterness and tropical fruit. The finish is long on wood and dried fruit. A fine rum, but a little disappointing in direct comparison with WLP's HLCF, which I personally liked a lot.
Review by Thunderbird
Today a cross-comparison with the new 18-year-old STC❤️E and the 13-year-old. At first I was surprised that the 18-year-old was a little lighter in the glass. I had expected the opposite after longer storage. The new one is clearly more present on the nose (but this may also be due to the fact that the 13-year-old has been open longer). The glue note and the ester are more clearly perceptible...otherwise the two are very similar. On the palate, the longer ageing is reflected in the stronger wood note, which is still very well balanced. In terms of appearance, I find the 18 a little softer and rounder than the 13. But these are only nuances. Ultimately, the differences are much smaller than expected. The finish is not quite as long. That's where the 13 scores. To sum up: both are excellent bottlings. Personally, I would prefer the 13
Review by Basti
Glue, varnish, esters, solvents and some alcohol are very present at first. With more time in the glass, sweet, fruity notes and spices increasingly dominate. On the palate, esters, glue, tropical fruits. Fruits, but also wood, spices and bitter notes. A direct comparison with the younger brother (RX416) is still pending. Edit: In a direct comparison with the Cambridge 2005 13y (RX416), the two bottlings hardly differ from each other. The latter is perhaps a little more tamed overall and - surprise surprise - has a little more aroma from the cask. Both are excellent bottlings, but the younger brother is much more attractive in terms of price.
Review by Serge
A direct comparison with the other two Camdridges (what's the correct plural here 😂) is still pending, but impatience has won out and I'm tasting this one on its own for now. As you'd expect, there's more wood over the fermented STCE fruit potpourri. The vanilla in solvents is also there, as well as the great umami note with curry leaf and bacon. It definitely needs a little longer in the glass and unfolds really nicely. You are rewarded with a very rich and opulent rum with a great balance of intense tropical maturity, umami and decadent fruit notes.
Review by Joachim Guger
A blind sample, received from Olivia as a Secret Santa and already tasted on 21.12. Let me say right away: I would never have thought of LP. Really great nose, very balanced, powerful and the dried fruit is almost reminiscent of Appleton.😀 Plenty strong and funky in the mouth. Blue cheese.😅 Spicy finish with bacon. Super! A great rum! 😀😀😀😀Thanks to Bavaria for this great sample!
Review by Gunnar Böhme "Bauerngaumen" 🤓
A sign of quality here: a fruit fly sneaks up immediately after pouring 😉 Initially sticky on the nose, but this quickly gives way to fermented tropical fruit. Strong, fruity and a little nutmeg on the palate, the alcohol spreads warm and clearly peppery throughout the mouth. Blindly, I would have thought it was a completely tropical NY, but I have tasted relatively few rums from LP. Not my preferred profile, but I'm not judging my taste here, I'm judging the quality of a rum based on my taste experience. And in my humble opinion, this rum is of high quality. The tropical sun shines out of its ass! 😊
Review by Kevin Sorensen 🇩🇰
12.05.2024 Retasting at home with more tranquility than at the Whisky Lige 2023 😊 Nose Light wood, round, balanced, complex, fruity, light mineral, faint mint, light coffee, faint chocolate. Palate Oily, balanced, elegant, light orange, faint mineral, faint mint, naturally sweet, light wood, spice. Finish Medium to long, naturally sweet, balanced, light chocolate, oily, light honey, faint caramel. Extra note. What a balance in all the elements this rum has, a pice de resistance in my mind. The empty glass has caramel, light chocolate, light floral and chocolate. -------------------- #4354 22.10.2023 Whisky Live 2023
Review by Adrian Wahl
A great rum, but for me the first Cambridge is rounder and fruitier. The bitterness and wood are a little more predominant here. Still top shelf
Review by TheRhumhoe
A particularly old Long Pond Cambridge (18 years) that naturally raises expectations. The nose is dense, torn between phenolic and medicinal notes, tangy, exotic fruit (pineapple, banana, mango, lime), spicy oak (even umami) and floral notes. A well-balanced profile on the nose in any case. The attack on the palate offers a fine balance between astringency and sweetness, with plenty of exotic fruit (pineapple, banana, citrus) and spice to counterbalance the medicinal and floral notes. This is an elegant, structured rum, with well-integrated alcohol. The finish is long and highly aromatic. Fruit arrives like a tidal wave, with papaya, mango and lime, while tannins chisel the palate. Once again, we have a good mastery of the different aromas. If the rum's intrinsic quality is undeniable, is it worth the price hike? It's hard to justify this rum's superiority to the Cambridge 2010 released the year before, at almost half the price. The quality/price ratio is not worth the candle here.
Review by mto75
A direct comparison with the 12- and 13-year-old is still pending, but it is clear that the 18-year-old Cambridge also hits the mark again. It is heavy and complex, but by no means too woody. Velvety soft on the palate, with the typical gravy. Tannins/barrel on the finish.
Review by Giorgio Garotti
Long pond never makes a mistake! It has a timbre that I really like! A mix of fermented fruit, varnish and wood! Despite many years of aging its timbre is still very recognizable!
Review by TheJona'Spirits
Avant dernier des National Rums of Jamaica. 👃 La Jamaïque à l'état brut. Funky, esters, fruité surmûri, épices salées, boisé. Vraiment tout ce que j'aime dans les jamaïcains tropicaux. Beaucoup de fruits tropicaux trop mûrs, des esters de colle, vernis, solvants. Gourmandise de pâte d'amandes et de citron vert confits et salés. 😋 Belle bombe! Esters, boisé tropical, explosion de fruits surmûris. J'ai du jacquier (fruit endémique de Mayotte), ananas, mangue, papaye, citron vert... Qui lorgne du côté de la fermentation, de la saumure, des vinaigres d'olives vertes. Puis, un côté plus sale de produits de finition (laque, vernis, solvants). Le boisé tropical est fondu à toutes ces saveurs et porte le tout de façon cohérente et équilibrée. ⛳ Boisé, amer, chaude, esters. Cette impression de petits cubes de fruits (ananas, citron vert, mangue) caramélisés et laqués d'un sucre acidulé. 💡 Par rapport à son petit frère de 13 ans, ce Cambridge 2005 est plus boisé (plus de stature et d'équilibre) et perd de fait un peu de funk et d'explosivité. Entre les deux mon cœur balance.
Review by Tschusikowsky
An exciting rum with an intense nose: coconut, varnish, tropical fruit, nuts and a good dose of esters. The palate is very acidic, with citrus notes, lime and a salty-tropical fruit mix. Chocolate, coconut, nut, strawberry and peach are added on the finish. The texture is rather light and watery, despite the 60 %, although the alcohol is well integrated. Overall, a rum full of character, but the strong acidity does not quite meet my preferred profile. The finish, on the other hand, is convincing and there is nothing wrong with the quality. Edit: The picture today is extremely different. I perceive very little acidity - within the normal ester framework. The rest remains, lots of umami, but must be corrected upwards. It's exciting/scary how the sensory experience in the mouth can be different.
Review by Chrischi78
Holy Moly a real highlight! What an awesome piece! Mega complex: fruit, spices like cinnamon, vanilla, a bit of funk, great integrated alcohol! A real board and worth every penny! ❤️❤️
Review by Filip Šikula
I love long pondy and I love the national rums of jamaica series, so I'm not totally unbiased, but this is awesome again. Glue, dried fruit and a hint of marzipan on the nose immediately. On the palate there are technical notes of glue at the start that lead into the fruit. Nice long finish. Paráda❤️
Review by Righrum
Crazy Ester and taste bomb! Glue, rotting tropical fruit almost vinagre-y and barrel plus spices when drinking. Lovely but only in little sips, a full dram is really difficult to deal with, it brings easily your palate to fatigue.
Review by LukaŽiga
9,2:On the nose, esters, glue, varnish, maybe polish, some rubber, tropical fruits with banana, pineapple and mango, lime, roasted wood notes with caramel, nuts, marzipan, dark and candied molasses, bump into our nosetrils. On aeration, dried apricots and raisins arise, roasted tones with confectionery, coffee, crème brûlée, slightly meaty, allspice and the molasses brings flowery touch. 9,3:On the palate, the attack is funky, but balanced, round with roasted wood notes and nuts, smoky, bbq, meaty and caramelized, spicy with vanilla, fruity with fermented tropical fruits like banana, pineapple, citrus fruits, medicinal with esters, varnish and glue, the molasses is vegetal with olive, dark with licorice. 9,1:The finish is long, dry&tannic, with tons of fermented fruits, pairing smoky, spicy roasted oak and medicinal notes, metallic touch, flowery molasses.
Review by Martin Spooner
The nose is raisiny with a hint of solvent. But not disturbing. Has a certain pep. The taste has a slight spiciness. But still round with a fine depth. Apple! But I think the finish is the best. Quite unexpectedly, it develops very strongly there and has incredible aromas. A great rum. Still a grenade in the night tasting. Improved by 0.1.
Review by Rene Pfeiffer
Really great blend of fruit, esters, spices and wood. Totally smooth and round, especially compared to the 13-year-old, which I find much more edgy. The extra 5 years in the barrel and that in the tropics have done the rum a lot of good.
Review by Timo Groeger
Wow, strong Long Pond, you can't deny that. It definitely has a lot of caramel to offer, and is otherwise quite sweet. Also, there's some wood (cask) as well as a good amount of esters :)
Review by w00tAN
Northern Lights Meeting 2025: In the nose glue, solvent then fruity spicy. In the mouth then fruity (pineapple) later spicy beautifully complex. Medium-long finish with wood and slight saltiness. Just behind the 2010 in direct comparison.
Review by Skyfly
Wow - so intensive und langanhaltende Zitrus-, vor allem Limettenaromen hatte ich bei einem Rum noch nie im Gaumen. Zudem harmonisieren sie perfekt mit den tropischen Früchten, Holz, Estern und dem Klebstoff. Eine wirklich gelungene Abfüllung!
Review by Jarek
So, finally tasted all three Cambridge wines together today. As expected, the 18-year-old 2005 shows the most maturity. The fruit is a little more in the background here. More sticky on the nose and sweeter and woodier on the palate. I like it better than the 2010. Compared to the 13-year-old 2005, I can't identify a favorite.
Review by Manuel
What an incredibly beautiful rum. Very intense as soon as it is poured, lots of wood, tropical fruit and a slight funk. An absolute explosion of flavor in the mouth. The ester influences are discreetly in the background here. Brilliant ❤️
Review by Roberto Bessa Ferreira
This is the best Velier 2005 STCE and together with the 1995 STCE Plantation, one from my favorits LP.
Review by F.L.O.
Pattex, Pattex, Pattex. I only smell Partex or solvent. I think that's the wrong sample :-) A really bad nose. And even after 25 minutes it's still Pattex. And then that taste - wow. Still Pattex (but much, much less), plus fresh, spicy notes (no idea what). Alcohol is well integrated.
Review by ilRummista
One of the best Jamaican rums I have had in the last six months. A real gem in the Velier 23/24 catalog. Rich nose. Even better palate. Complex enough with a hint of wood but pleasant, not too strong. I drank the VSGB and will definitely buy the "regular" bottle as well.
Review by Jussi Piirainen
This rum did sit in the glass for a good 15 minutes before the review. On the nose: Esters,glue marzipan and tropical fruits. You can tell that this quite long aged (18 years) rum from the body and balance. Taste: Esters, vanilla, tropical fruits. Woody notes. Lovely caramel notes. Perfectly aged and the abv is integrated perfectly. Finish: Woody, esters, vanilla, dried fruits. Tannings and medicinal notes in the background. Finishes quite dry. Long finish. Amazing rum, i could sip this rum all night. But wait, i dont have a bottle, yet.
Review by Fred Tillac
👃 = Solvent notes with wood, banana, pineapple, lemon, a bit of acidity and caramel, as well as a hint of salt, but these aromas are less exuberant than with the 2010 vintage. 👄 = The alcohol is noticeable right from the start but is well integrated with its mix of esters, fruity tastes, and the smoky flavors are more subdued. The spices are mainly felt on the long, warm finish.
Review by Mopar Rules
Greetings from funky Jamaika 🇯🇲rotten fruits and polish everywhere on nose and palate. Close to the TECA Longpond. Nice. Special? No.
Review by Tim
Extremely good rum, and that's coming from someone who isn't necessarily a Jamaica lover. Very rounded nose with chocolate, caramel, toffee, fruits, vanilla. Very high quality and made without any flaws. Just as great on the palate and the finish is simply delicious and well-balanced. Proud price, but extremely good.
Review by Gregor
Nose: Nice mix of tropical fruits (grapefruit, orange peel, mango, etc.) and ester/glue which gets a little out of hand with time. Palate: again tropical fruits first (pineapple, coconut, grapefruit), peach, then lots of ester, hazelnut, a little spiciness, cinnamon on the finish.
Review by Buddudharma
Cambridge is simply a beautiful profile, and I've perhaps never had a relative high-ester rum with this long tropical ageing in my glass before. More detailed notes will follow after the direct comparison with the other Cambridge bottlings.
Review by alex
Funky, solvent, lots of fruit make up this juice of enormous quality 😍 First on the nose, it scents the room, then big explosion on the palate, and endless length, this Long Pond is a jewel 😍😍😍
Review by Mentalo
Den 13 jährigen noch mal im direkten Vergleich zum 18 jährigen probiert. Beides tolle STCE, beide sehr ähnlich. Der jüngere sehe ich minimal vorn. Hat etwas mehr Ecken und Kanten, etwas mehr Intensität.
Review by Romain de L
The nose is grand ! Glue, esters, fruits overipened. Smooth attack, well integrated, fruits, unique, long finish, slightly bitter (very slightly). The best Longpond I have tried
Review by Djehey
Nice tasting at the whisky house. A nice profile. An STCE well rounded with age. You can smell it right from the nose: esters, tropical fruits, but also wood and even leather. A mature blend that I really liked!
Review by Stefan L
- my gosebums-omeeter just have to raise this rum to 9 and up.
Review by martin slezák
Nroj Long pond stce 2005 18y 60% Colour amber to mahogany Aromas medicinal, penicillin, glue, smoked sausage, toasted bacon, tropical fruit banana pineapple intense Palate full-bodied intense medicinal penicillin at the start, moving into fruity banana, later, wood, coffee, chocolate Finish long dark chocolate, coffee, fruit, pleasantly warming Alcohol is well integrated, great rum
Review by Adrien B
Nose 'heavy, animal leather, full-bodied, lactic, develops, very, very gourmand, velvety, funky acid finish Edit. All the same. A syrup that cures many ills. Deep and broad, reminiscent of the best English rum!
Review by Joël
The nose alone is very interesting, and the palate is not disappointed either. I like!
Review by Benoit Mahe
Superb nose but palate lacks sweetness even though it coats the palate very well.
Review by Александр Иванов
Nose: fantastic ! Lot of dry fruits, spices, tobacco, of course the esters, some orange & pineapple. Sooo deep & complex. Taste: Boom ! Spice punch. Orange zest, pineapple, cinnamon, cigars, sandal wood, cardamon, some leather, pecans, esters, rubber, sweet marmalade. Fantastic good. Aftertaste: long & deep. Slow spicy finish, esters with amazing balance & fruits notes. So complex... I love this one. It's really good.
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Expert reviews
Reviews from RumX's blog partners, independent experts who have tasted, evaluated, and described this rum..
Expert review by The Dunder Hut
A really strong stce!
Live auctions
Current bids for this rum at Europe's leading auction houses.
Market value
What this bottle last achieved at auction. A research indicator, not a forecast.
Auction results 185 € – 250 €
from 9 sales, latest 03/2026
Prices incl. buyer's premium — what a buyer pays, not what a sale nets you.
Avg. community purchase price 249 €
What members paid for this bottle, self-reported. Not a market value — the purchases are over three years old at the median and unverified.
Details about Velier Long Pond Cambridge STC❤️E 2005
A Pot Still Rum from Jamaica, bottled by Velier, at 60%.
Community purchases
152 bottles logged by 116 collectors.
A collector's bottle.
13% opened, 6 emptied and repurchased.
What does Velier Long Pond Cambridge STC❤️E 2005 cost?
Community paid 153–295 €.
Current best price: 260.00 € – within the typical community range.
What members actually paid for their bottles. A typical range, not the current shop price. Full price & collection history in RX+ →
152 purchased · 163 tasted · 93 wishlist · as of
Read on in the RumX Guide
All releases in this series
Velier Long Pond Cambridge STC❤️E 2005
Velier Long Pond Cambridge STC❤️E 2005Intense, funky Long Pond for ester lovers
Velier Long Pond Cambridge STC❤️E 2005
Velier Long Pond Cambridge STC❤️E 2005Mature, funky Jamaican with glue and fruit
Velier Long Pond Cambridge STC❤️E 2010
Velier Long Pond Cambridge STC❤️E 2010Funky, fruity Long Pond ester bomb
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