Rum Vertical Tasting En Route...

[CanuckSARTech]

…Or should I call it a Rum Horizontal Tasting, as that’s how I anticipate feeling once this evening is done!

Anywho, after sitting on it for quite a while, I’ll be doing a rum tasting tonight (and perhaps into tomorrow, LOL). Relatively free night to myself tonight, so I’ll be pouring some modest helpings of what turns out to be the 18 different rums in my possession, LOL. I’ll try to do it in blocks of five rums at a time, and will try to do some cigars in with it as well.

We’ll see how this pans out…

Cheers all. Literally!

[Habana Mike]

Wow, that's a lot of Rum!

Do you have a particular,method/sequence in mind? White rums, then aged rums, then spiced rums, etc.?

Will be interesting to see your notes once you've recovered! Enjoy

[luv2fly]

Wow, you are a brave man! I have a headache just looking at that. Look forward to your notes.

[CanuckSARTech]

Wow, that's a lot of Rum!

Do you have a particular,method/sequence in mind? White rums, then aged rums, then spiced rums, etc.?

Will be interesting to see your notes once you've recovered! Enjoy

Basically will be going youngest to oldest, white (1-2 years old) and then on up.

[archosaur]

Looks like fun - enjoy! (have not tried everything in the pic...but I'd go easy on those first four, that does not look like a good time )

[Colt45]

that’s how I anticipate feeling once this evening is done!

yeah, horizontal!

[CanuckSARTech]

So here goes...I have 18 different rums to go through.

With the main tasting stuff, I've generally arranged this to start with the youngest / white rums to begin with, and then working towards the more aged rums. I'll note the alcohol percentage per volume as well as the country of origin, and will note (where available / applicable) any lot or batch or bottle numbers, or anything particular to that rum. Here's the rundown of what I'll be going through, in order from basically youngest to oldest:

• Bacardi Superior White Rum
• Brugal Ron 151
• Captain Morgan 100-Proof Spiced Rum
• Nutz 'N Rum Peanut Punch
• Captain Morgan Tattoo
• Ron Santiago de Cuba Anejo
• Legendario Elixir de Cuba
• Havana Club Anejo 7 Anos
• Bacardi Ron 8 Anos
• Havana Club Cuban Barrel Proof
• Havana Club Seleccion de Maestros
• Kirk and Sweeney 12 Year Dominican Rum
• El Dorado 12 Year Old Rum
• Dictador 12
• Ron Santiago de Cuba Extra Anejo 12 Anos
• Ron Flor de Cana Centenario 18
• Ron Zacapa 23
• Ron Zacapa XO

Let's see how then rolls then, shall we. Here's the first three to start with (no cigars paired with yet, all enjoyed prior to supper):

1. Bacardi Superior. (40 % alc/vol, Puerto Rico) The classic "big brand" of white rum. This is a mainstay for me, for frozen pina coladas, daiquiris and mojitos. That said, that's about all it's good for. Very plain Jane tasting. Only a one-year-old rum (two years max), it has no "legs" in the glass. Slight vanilla and lemon tinge to the rum, not overpowering. No real other tasting notes - it's just a plain, white rum.

2. Next up - Brugal Ron 151. (75.5 % alc/vol, Dominican Republic) Jesus. This **** is rocket fuel. On the nose out of the bottle, it reminds me of rose water (any of you having kids know of this stuff). It's very deceiving, in that you don't think it any worse than regular white rum. This stuff has a sweet bite, almost with an anise (black licorice) tinge, and has decent legs in the glass for a white rum. Then - KAPOW! - this stuff hits you with the heat and numbness after. With a bit on the lips, it actually makes your lips start to tingle and go slightly numb. Slight honey and vanilla sweetness at first with this stuff too.

3. Captain Morgan 100-Proof Spiced Rum. (50 % alc/vol, Puerto Rico) Yup, I'm NOT a huge fan of Captain Morgan. I find that stuff tastes more like gasoline than many "cheap" brands of rum, and I usually cringe when I ask at a bar as to what their dark rums are, and I usually get an answer back of "Captain Morgan Dark and Captain Morgan Spiced". Yikes. That said, I do enjoy this stuff. Primarily, it's a Christmas-time eggnog-and-spiced-rum that I have this with. But, this 100-proof stuff is just that tinge nicer. Huge hits of buttered caramel / toffee right off the get go, followed by some nutmeg, cinnamon, and cloves, and a bit of sweet vanilla with the heat follow-up. While this isn't really a sipping kinda rum, it's not unbearable either (though definitely not preferred). My wife likes this one mixed with Malibu for her rum-and-cokes occasionally.

Mmmmm. Palate's warming up now.

More to come...

Cheers all.

(visit my blog for more pictures and text on this)

[Squarehead]

Is it fair to say you 're getting "Keith'd"

[CanuckSARTech]

Is it fair to say you 're getting "Keith'd"

I was. LOL.

[CanuckSARTech]

Sorry for the delay - I was getting server errors on FOH for the remainder of Friday evening and then yesterday too. Here's some of the rest...

Part 2 of 4:

So, continuing on from my previous on this ascending rum tasting, here’s the next five rums or so. Supper was had prior to these rums – pork chops, green beans, and rice, enjoyed with the Mrs and the Rugrats. Again, these are sampled straight up, about an ounce of each, with no mixers, ice cubes, or chilling, and enjoyed at room temperature.

And so…

4. Nutz ‘N Rum Peanut Punch. (14% alc/vol, St. Lucia) This stuff is actually in a nine-year-old bottle from when my wife and I had our honeymoon in St. Lucia and we did a rum factory tour there, and I just recently found again during a liquor cabinet clean-out. Essentially, this stuff is one-third creamy peanut butter, and two-thirds amber/gold rum (three-year-old approximately). Sounds horrendous, but it’s wunder-bar!!! As the label says, it’s best when chilled. As for tasting notes – it tastes like nuts. With rum. LOL.

5. Captain Morgan Tattoo. (35% alc/vol, Puerto Rico) As I mentioned before, most Captain Morgan rum I find to be sacrilegious to the good name of rum. However, along with the overproof spiced rum of their I like for eggnog drinks, I also like this stuff. I first found this in fall 2007, when my wife and I were on a golf and shopping vacation to Myrtle Beach. Found this at a liquor store there, and was told at the time it was a special offering for around the eastern seaboard / Gulf-shores states, but in the past few years it’s been right up to Michigan and Ohio now too (haven’t seen it in Canada yet). Apparently, it’s made with a two- to three-year-old rum, depending on who you ask.

This stuff is very heavily infused with flavourings and such, and is a distinctly darker colour. In the glass, though it’s a darker rum, it’s very watery in appearance, and with no legs on the glass at all. On the nose, black cherry notes and faint allspice, some sweet nutmeg and cloves – almost even an aroma of flat Pepsi. Tasting it, it’s heavy with molasses, cloves, and black cherry, and the heat ramps up on the aftertaste. Also, with all the myriad of spices they add into this rum, it almost reminds me a bit of that Jagermeister feeling in the back of your throat afterwards, almost like a tinge of NyQuil is mixed in there too. LOL. Even though that flavour is around the edges, this is one that can be sipped, but I’ve enjoyed it most on a 50/50 splitting with some classic Coke.

6. Ron Santiago de Cuba Anejo. (38% alc/vol, Cuba) Now we’re starting to get into what I like for going either as sippers or mixers. This one is a bit harsh for the former, but mixed 50/50 with Coke, it’s pretty nice. Cuban rum I find is a bit harsher compared to others (ie – a Cuban 7-year-old is sometimes not as good as a 5-year from somewhere else), but Cuban rums just seem to pair so well with Habanos cigars (whether it’s a mindset thing or not, I dunno). This stuff (Anejo) is the five-year variant.

A faint bit of legs in the glass, I’m always amazed at how this one shrugs off any residual water to the inside of the glass – kinda like oil and water. On the nose, there’s a light caramel nuttiness, but very strong hits of banana actually, and a smokey woodiness. Tastes of ripened fruit, some candy sweetness, and a bit of citrus (orange peel?) and slight bitterness/sourness, are followed up with a bit of heat and a slightly harsh bite on the sides of the tongue. The flavours overall aren’t abundant or apparent in a good mix to have me enjoying this rum as a sipper only – as mentioned before, it’s best as a mixer, as I personally think it meshes well with caramel-heavy Coke.

7. Legendario Elixir de Cuba. (34% alc/vol, Cuba) This stuff is always a treat. It’s a liqueur that’s made from seven-year-old Cuban rum. Yup, that’s right…it’s booze that’s made from other booze. LOL. This stuff is an amazingly sweet and delicious concoction, it’s best as a sipping dessert aperitif after a nice long Cuban seafood dinner, and enjoyed with a post-dinner cigar. Glorious. And that, coupled with small production batches, are usually why it’s so damn hard to find on trips down to the island usually.

In the glass, this stuff has really nice legs actually, and has a bit of sediment in it usually (usually attributed to the pulverized raisins used to make this concoction). While noticeably darker in colour for a seven-year-old, it sticks to the sides of the glass and coats it well. Aromas are of lemon, light leather, and a vanilla-honey sweetness, and even with a decent raisin and even banana air to it. In the mouth, flavours of dark smoky honeyed caramel hit you front in the face. This **** is swweeeeeettt. The heat of the alcohol is around the edges somewhat, but really covered by the smoky honey and sweet raisin layered flavours. There’s a bit of an herbal background to it too, accenting the honey and lemon. Reminds me of a white port, but with a heavier smokiness to it, and a more tropical palate accentuating it.

8. Havana Club Anejo 7 Anos. (40% alc/vol, Cuba) This is my everyday rum-and-Coke rum. While some seven-year-rums may be good enough for everyday sipping, I generally don’t think most Cuban rums fit the bill, and especially not the younger Havana Club stuff. That said, it pairs too damn well with a Cuban cigar when in a 50/50 mix with Coke. It’s fair to say I go through a healthy amount of this rum compared to all others in my cupboard.

This particular bottle is a Pernod Ricard produced bottle, purchased in Canada, and not direct in Cuba (though for this hemisphere, it is produced there). Also notable is that the Havana Club product line used to be the Bacardi’s, before the Cuban Revolution and such, and recently Bacardi has apparently introduced a “Havana Club” product into the U.S. But this stuff here is the Cuban production stuff sold worldwide by Pernod.

Lighter in colour than what I like to see, legs in the glass are faint. Light aromas on the nose of caramel, buttered toffee, and a coffee mocha element, but they’re overpowered by the harsh alcohol ethers. Harsh on the palate, flavours of nectarines and cedar with a butter and caramel edge are washed away by acidic and harsh alcohol layers. It’s good, but not for sipping really. Just soooo much better as a general-use dark rum for rum-and-Cokes and even stellar pina coladas.

Hic. Okay. Things are rolling along smoothly now. Hic.

More to come shortly…

Cheers all.

[CanuckSARTech]

Part 3 of 4:

Continuing still from my first and then second posts on this rum tasting, here’s number three. These five were enjoyed two nights ago as well (right after those in Part 1 and Part 2), but I’m just unfortunately posting it here early today, as the inability to see my computer straight later that night, LOL, and then family stuff yesterday, all led me to be unable to post until now.

Also, after supper that night was enjoyed before the last groupings of rum, these five were then enjoyed along with a quite nice H. Upmann No. 2 from 2008 that I was given in trade from good brother Emil (Oct 2008, “USE” coded stick), and after a nice sunset-filled sky that evening. The dense, creamy rich smoke from that cigar, and the bold power it still had in a nice balance profile, meshed well with these rums below.

Again, these five rums are sampled straight up, about an ounce of each, with no mixers, ice cubes, or chilling, and enjoyed at room temperature.

And so…

9. Bacardi Ron 8 Anos. (40% alc/vol, Puerto Rico) This one is aged for a minimum of eight years in oak casks, and then finished apparently in sherry oak barrels. While Bacardi Superior white is simply a mixer only, this stuff is different. From the box packaging, this is a special blend originally created in Cuba by Facundo Bacardi Masso, and was the “private family reserve blend” for over five generations.

This stuff has a nice aroma to it. On the nose, there’s molasses sweetness, honey, and almost a saltwater taffy tinge. Legs are fairly nice in the glass, very long and coating within the glass, and the golden copper colour is pretty good too. Very balanced in the mouth, with a lemony sweetness, and a smoky woodiness to it. The oaking is quite apparent with this, and helps meld it very nicely. An excellent and well-balanced sipper, I was also getting hints of sweet spice (nutmeg or cinnamon on the fringes perhaps), with a sweet stonefruit ripeness to it.

10. Havana Club Cuban Barrel Proof. (45% alc/vol, Cuba) This lovely rich-copper-coloured rum, from the packaging notes, is aged in specially selected fresh white oak barrels, and then polished off in unique “finishing casks”, and then bottled straight from the cask directly at 45% alcohol by volume. This is the rum that, apparently, was discontinued and then reintroduced under a slightly changed recipe and different packaging under the Seleccion de Maestros label. This particular bottle of rum is my last of this type, from a 2011 trip to Cuba, and from one of the last production runs I believe. The rum in this is a minimum of seven-years-old (rather than a blend with seven years being the maximum, such as with the Havana Club Anejo 7 Anos), with it generally being referred to as a 10-year-old for the majority of the rum within it.

On the nose, some fresh nuts (cashew or brazil nuts?), some smoky honey, and almost like a rich black tea. Very distinct and slowly moving legs to this rum in the glass, with almost a negative attraction of the rum and the glass together (the rum doesn’t coat the inside of the glass so much as it pools itself into little droplets to “avoid” contact with the glass). Flavours of rich dark honey, caramel, some smoky woodiness on the back of the palate even, and then a full-bore heavy alcohol heat to hit on the backend of the flavour profile. With the heavy flavour profile and alcohol heat, it’s a very thin and lightweight feeling rum on the mouthfeel. A very nice rum to pair with nearly any cigar.

11. Havana Club Seleccion de Maestros. (45% alc/vol, Cuba) This is apparently the updated / newer version of the Barrel Proof. Again, being a 10-year-rum, the only real difference is that this rum is triple barrel aged (whereas the Barrel Proof only went through two caskings), and then the Seleccion de Maestros apparently does two sets of maturation in the old oak barrels first, and then does the finishing in new fresh white oak casks (opposite of the Barrel Proof style). Again, this is apparently the only real difference, in that the rest of the actual rum recipe is the exact same between the two.

I must say also that the packaging on this one is awesome. A cedar-look outer package, a lovely tapered crystal-clear bottle, and then the rich copper colour of the rum and the lovely cedar-look outer package all contrasted and accented heavily by the rich blue, gold, and red labelling.

Rich caramel notes and smokiness are on the nose, with a hint of lemon peel and fresh bread dough. Wavy legs are noted in the glass, within a heavy coating of rum when sloshed around in the glass. Flavours of sweet and savory spices are noted, accented by a buttery toffee and creme brulee profile. The heat aftertaste is very balanced throughout the mouth (not biting in any one area to hard), and meshes well with the profile. There’s even hints of tobacco and cedar essences in there (perhaps if one dreams and imagines hard enough, LOL). Again, another nice rum to pair with just about any cigar, but this is one I really enjoy paired off of dense and rich Ramon Allones or Montecristo sticks.

12. Kirk and Sweeney 12 Year Dominican Rum. (40% alc/vol, Dominican Republic; batch # 002, bottle # S1878) This rum is made in the D.R., and imported and created by a company out of California called 35 Maple Street. The packaging of this one is unique, being in a giant apple-shaped bottle, and with very elegant and tasteful white silk-screening on the bottle showing of the history of the brand’s namesake (a rum-running schooner than ran from the Caribbean to the northeastern U.S. seaboard, before it was captured and turned into a U.S. Coast Guard instructional ship). This was an awesome gift sent to me by great BOTL Alex, part of a few trades and whatnot he and I did back and forth, and a rum I had not heard of nor seen before.

However, and especially for a 12-year-old rum, the packaging unfortunately is the best part of this rum, and while it’s nowhere near a bad rum, it’s not quite the best sipper. It has a rich copper colour, but the legs in the glass are a bit broken up and spotty. The nose is of heavy vanilla and oakiness. The mouthfeel of this rum is very watery, with no viscosity to it at all. The heat is almost overpowering on this rum compared to any flavours – one would almost think this is a barrel proof or 50%+ rum due to the heavy alcohol tones. There’s some nice caramel and butteriness there, but again, the heat overpowers it. If I drink this one as a sipper, it’s generally chilled/frozen (does this rum a world of good), or, more often than not, I’m cutting this one with a bit of Coke.

13. El Dorado 12 Year Old Rum. (40% alc/vol, Guyana) This is one of my favourite sippers. This rum is made in Guyana and is a “Demerara” rum, using Demerara sugar (a darker brown sugar than normal, containing a high level of molasses), which results in a strong and bold flavour profile. This rum contains a blend with a minimum age of 12-years (some rums upwards of 16-years apparently), and comes from a company making this stuff for 345 years now. Some find this rum too sweet and caramel-laden (attributed to its demerara sugar manufacture), but I tend to love that in good rums.

In the glass, a good consistent copper colour, and with noted wrinkly-looking and zig-zagging legs in the glass. Very strong butter and caramel aromas on the nose. On the palate, any heat is rounded and well-ascentuates the flavour profile, consisting of vanilla, toffee and caramel, and some sweet fruitiness (perhaps of dates or prunes?) Some sweet spices of allspice and nutmeg are around the fringes as well. I love this one as a sipper. Mixing with Coke is okay too, but I find the caramel sweetness of this one can almost be overpowering and too sweet if mixed with Coke. A bit of ice to chill this one does wonders.

Well, that’s where I left things off the other night. Didn’t get a chance to finish off the last five yesterday due to family commitments, but will be trying to get the rest finished off this evening though. More to come shortly to finish this off then…

Cheers all.

[Habana Mike]

Good stuff! Doesn't sound the Kirk & Sweeney is worth searching out though.....

[El Presidente]

[FHFinster]

Nicely done!

[Kbb]

I see your Captain Morgan bottles still list Puerto Rico as the base rum. A few years back a beverage company called Diageo bought the Captain brand and moved production to St. Thomas USVI. You may be able to find the original still, but the current production lists just Caribbean rum as the base. Moving production and changing the base rum has altered the flavor from the original. It is not for me to say this was bad or good since it will come down to your tastes, but you might want to do a side by side. At least to see if you need to stock up on some of the 100 proof original from PR.

[CanuckSARTech]

I see your Captain Morgan bottles still list Puerto Rico as the base rum. A few years back a beverage company called Diageo bought the Captain brand and moved production to St. Thomas USVI. You may be able to find the original still, but the current production lists just Caribbean rum as the base. Moving production and changing the base rum has altered the flavor from the original. It is not for me to say this was bad or good since it will come down to your tastes, but you might want to do a side by side. At least to see if you need to stock up on some of the 100 proof original from PR.

Understood and agreed. These bottles are the full Puerto Rico bottles. I have had some of the Tattoo that's a blend (apparently about 60/40 of Puerto Rico rum and then Dominican Republic rum I heard), but no real taste difference to me on that one - there's almost too much flavourings added to make that difference distinguishable, in my opinion at least.

[CanuckSARTech]

Part 4 of 4:

So, here's the last of my rum tastings. If you want to read up on the previous ones, go here for Part 1, here for Part 2, and here for Part 3.

As with previous tastings, these five rums are sampled straight up, about an ounce of each, with no mixers, ice cubes, or chilling, and enjoyed at room temperature. These were all enjoyed last night, after a honey-glazed ham dinner with scalloped potatoes and fixin's.

Here goes...

14. Dictador 12. (42% alc/vol, Columbia) This rum from Columbia is an "ultra premium reserve" rum that's made using the solera system (similar to my favourite sipping rum, Ron Zacapa). Funny thing is, the label itself says 40% alcohol by volume, but then there's an amendment sticker affixed to the reverse-side label that shows it at 42% instead. This particular bottle was won at auction at one of the Toronto MegaHerf events, and it's be a slow-use rum for me.

In the glass, this stuff is a bit lighter than similar 12-years. It's a fair bit thinner in viscosity as well, and doesn't so much leave legs in the glass compared to just a slight oily coating. This rum is made using virgin sugar cane as well (rather than molasses or demerara sugar), and it shows. The aroma is fairly bland and light, with slight floral tones, brown sugar, and buttered roasted almonds, and then perhaps some overlapping caramel fringes. Once sipped, flavours of butter, cinnamon, nutmeg, and sweet carmelized sugar remind me of pancakes and syrup, or French toast and syrup - quite nice. However, it seems to be somewhat overpowered by the alcohol heat, which really takes over the other flavours, and lingers long after. This rum for me isn't so much as a good sipper as it perhaps is something that's best cut with a bit of Coke.

15. Ron Santiago de Cuba Extra Anejo 12 Anos. (40% alc/vol, Cuba) This 12-year-old rum has a rich, dark copper colour, and coats the inside of the glass well, and has very nice, long-holding legs. The bottle for this is only slightly distinguishable from the standard Anejo (one has a brown-background on the label, the other has the black background), but the price and the quality still do set it aside. That said, this one is fairly excellent value, being picked up for $40 CUC down in Cuba.

On the nose, slight lemon zest is there, along with an almost sour-but-sweet aroma - I'd almost say a slightly sweet malt vinegar tinge; yes, while it may seem a bit crazy it seems to work. Everything on the nose is blended well with a molasses tinge. Once sipped though, a slight sourness is initially apparent. Butterscotch, honey, and fresh dough (like that for fresh and soft white dinner rolls) are most apparent, with the alcohol heat really only hitting at the back of the palate and back of the throat. Everything is evened off of each other quite well, and though that sourness is a bit off-putting at first, it does seem to make this rum pair up quite nicely with lighter cigars (think aged Trinis, Cohiba, and LGC fare). If the sourness is too much for you, some icecubes in the glass with it alone do wonders for this rum.

16. Ron Flor de Cana Centenario 18. (40% alc/vol, Nicaragua) This bottle was a kindly gift from BOTL Rob / "Freefallguy", he of the Nicaraguan Children's Feeding Mission, and grabbed for me as a kind gesture during one of his trips down there. He frequently gets a chance to visit my home and family during trips up here to the Frozen North, and my kids enjoy when Uncle Rob brings bubblegum for them, and then coffee and booze for Mommy and Daddy. This rum in particular is a slow-aged, single-estate sugar plantation rum, and has a fair bit of fans out there.

The rum is a lighter golden colour in the glass, a bit surprising being that it's a slow-aged traditional rum that's 18-years-old, and being a lighter hue than other younger and solera-aged rums. That said, once it's in the glass, it's all old hat. Long slender legs are aplenty in the glass, and strong banana, caramel, and lemon-honey-tea tones are readily scented. Tasting it, the creme brulee and carmelized-sugar sweetness hits you first, and then WHAMMO!, get's overran by the alcohol heat, which travels front to back on your tongue and then even hits you in the nasal cavity. After the burn subsides a slight bit after a second or so, background flavours of prunes, bread, and pears round it out. A wonderful sipper that would be a sacriledge to cut with anything aside from a handsome cube or two of ice.

17. Ron Zacapa 23. (40% alc/vol, Guatemala) What can I say - this is my absolute favourite sipper. This Ron Zacapa 23 (as well as the following Ron Zacapa XO) is made from "first-crush virgin sugar cane honey" (that's a mouthful) and then aged in the moutains of Guatemala at an altitude of 2300 meters. The location above the clouds allow for a unique warming and cooling process of the barrel houses throughout the course of a day, and accelerate and accentuate the aging process of this rum. The Zacapa 23 particularly contains rums with a minimum of six-years of age, and a maximum of 23-years, and is matured in a mixture of barrels that previously held American whiskeys, sherries, and Pedro Ximenez wines. The packaging of this rum is also top-notch as well, with it's black, red, gold, and tan outer-packaging, and then the very distinguishable bottle with the rattan weave around the circumference of it.

In the glass, this is one of the richer copper-coloured rums I have, and has wonderful long-holding legs in the glass. The aroma is loaded with caramel right from the get-go, and then even some marshmallow and sweet apple pie notes. Upon sipping, a buttery softness and caramel breadiness makes me a very happy man, and the alcohol heat slowly steps into the fold with some sweet fruits and savoury spices, notably some allspice. This rum definitely has set the bar for me as a sipper, and is my overall favourite, and though the availability seems to be getting harder to find, and the pricing seems to be getting higher, this is still a must-have.

18. Ron Zacapa XO. (40% alc/vol, Guatemala; bottle # T465143) Like the Zacapa 23, this XO has a lot of the same production aspects. However, what sets this one aside is that the rum ages are from six-years to 25-years (rather than only 23), and then the rum is finished in French oak casks that previously aged cognac. The packaging on this one is stellar as well, and a very elegant bottle is contained within a well-protecting outer box; that said, I almost like the Zacapa 23's bottle better, in that it just fits into a cabinet more neatly!

This rum, almost identical to the Zacapa 23, is such a dark brown colour it's wonderful to behold in the glass. Again, long legs in the glass when swirled, and beautiful aromas of caramel, this time accented with breadfruit and nectarines, with a cinnamon and nutmeg tings. On the palate, tastes of caramel and whipped cream are helped along right from the get-go with an alcohol warmth, and continue on with a hit of banana and coconut-cream pie. This is a very sweet rum, caramel laden, and not overly distinguishable from the Zacapa 23. Both are excellent rums, and at the top of most rum lovers' wish lists, and are equally well-paired with any cigar but the lightest (I avoid long-aged LCG and Trinidad with these).

So, there we go. Eighteen rums, two evenings, zero bottles or glasses broken, one whole dishwasher load of shot glasses and rocks glasses, and only two Aspirins used (for a completely different issue altogether). Glad I went through these - some in here that I haven't delved into too much lately, and this was a nice refresher on what to start drinking down for this upcoming holiday season.

Cheers all.

[BigBruce]

Rum is my favorite! I love Ron Zacapa XO and, El Dorado 15 yr.! It's a toss up but definitely 1. & 2.!

[LLC]

Enjoyed the reviews Keith. I've been enjoying the Zacapa 23 and Seleccion de Maestros neat lately. Just picked up another bottle of the Z23 at the duty free in Denver. Havana Club 7 for mixing is my go to.

[archosaur]

Outstanding!

Great write up, thanks for the effort! This puts a couple rums I have not tried on my radar...

[dtrott]

Great write up/review ! I've been searching for a good "sipping"rum to enjoy while smoking.Thanks for your time and efforts.Think I'll start with the Ron Zacapa!!

[CanuckSARTech]

Thanks fellas.