I enjoy rum

I'm going to start this rum review with a little intro to give you all the necessary background.
It all started a few years back when one of my friends a whiskey lover invited me to come over for a rum tasting event hosted by the Latvian Whiskey Association.
I never had sipped rums before. Before that my experience was limited to watered down rum colas at clubs.
Long story short, that tasting event opened my eyes that certain rums can and should be enjoyed without any additions. At that evening I found my most favorite rum - Dictador 20yr. But I will cover it in a later post. Now I have began collecting rums for a little while whenever I can afford them. This time I chose to review something new I bought just yesterday. When reviewing a taste sometimes you have to rely on metaphors to describe what is going on in your mouth. So at risk of sounding like a pretentious douche-bag I'll use them to help me deal with my limited English vocabulary .

Plantation Barbados rum 5 yr.

The facts

As one would guess this rum originates from Barbados, in Caribbean region. It's a fairly inexpensive rum and it cost around 23 € where I bought it from.

This rum is aged at least 5 years in bourbon casks in the tropical climate of Barbados. And afterwards it is shipped to France to be further matured in small Pierre Ferrand barrels. A rather common thing for "Plantation" rums.
The bottle is sold without a box and has a fake grass lace around the bottle. The bottle leaves a pretty good impression and fits the price range.

The feelings

This has been a very interesting experience from the opening of the bottle to the aftertaste. When I opened the bottle and smelled the cork I was rather surprised. After the initial whiff of alcohol it revealed a very light subtle oak, tobacco and banana aroma. I am personally not a fan of very sweet rums so I took this as a good sign.

The taste starts with a rather complex and smooth bittersweet bouquet then followed by a rather strong alcohol bite which then also passes quickly and leaves a slightly numbing feeling on the tongue. The aftertaste reminds me of faint dark chocolate and charred oak.
Overall the taste is pretty rich and earthy and doesn't overwhelm you. A pleasant sipping experience.

When mixed with cola, the high notes are muted and what is noticeable is a dark thick undertone to the mix. I'd suggest adding a slice of lime.

Final thoughts

Overall I was surprised what I got for the price. The not so sweet and musky taste is something that puts it pretty high on my favorites list. There are not many good sipping rums in the low-mid range and this rum performs admirably. A thing to get used to is the alcohol bite which could scare away from the second sip, but it gets better once you expect it. While the taste is rich it still has ways to go when compared to the more matured rums. In fact now that I have gotten my hands on the 5yr version I will try to hunt down the 20yr one. When mixed, the best way I can describe it is as a bass player in the band. Noticeable in the background and sets the tone but doesn't stand out too much.
It's a good rum to start exploring what you like and what you don't like.

I recommend it if you don't like rums that are too sweet and would like to have something cheap enough to not worry about mixing it and good enough to be a sipping rum as well.

Happy sipping,
Beercake out!

Listened to Zeina - Washing Machine (prod. by Eestbound & Bijan Amir) while making this post.