Tastes

White, lightly aged, blanco or silver rums, whatever you want to call them are not typically rums that I drink neat, but I do have a good number of them, so I figured I would run thru 8 of them and see which one emerges the winner (between Angostura, Privateer, Havana Club, Cana Brava, Barbancourt, Flor de Cana, Banks 5 Island & El Dorado). The winner of the eight white rums I tried, I found Privateer to be more than just a great cocktail rum, but a very solid rum to drink neat. I've had aged rums that were not as good as this one. The nose is heavy on the sugar, but still fruity and almost has a cotton candy smell to it. The palate is buttery with anise, burnt sugar and bananas. The finish is longer than the others on the list, still on the short side though, with grassy notes and a bit of burn. The privateer white rum is a fine spirit neat or in cocktails. It can hold its own against pretty much any other white rum under $30 and again, it's even better than some aged rums. Well worth the price. The final results: 1. Privateer 2. Havana Club 3. Barbancourt 4. El Dorado 5. Cana Brava 6. Banks 5 7. Flor de Cana 8. Angostura

White, lightly aged, blanco or silver rums, whatever you want to call them are not typically rums that I drink neat, but I do have a good number of them, so I figured I would run thru 8 of them and see which one emerges the winner (between Angostura, Privateer, Havana Club, Cana Brava, Barbancourt, Flor de Cana, Banks 5 Island & El Dorado). Finishing second on the list, Havana Club (hopefully you weren't thinking the Bacardi version) is one of the most well-known white rums out there. I have seen many reviews that don't seem to like the white rum, except for in a daiquiri or a mojito, but I found it to be pretty solid neat and great in cocktails (long/short or stirred). The nose features pineapple and coconut. The palate is sweet, almost too much so, with hints of ginger, oak, citrus peel and an overall oily feel to it. The finish is pretty quick with a touch of pepper. The Barbancourt is a close third to this, but I did give this one the edge. It absolutely shines in cocktails and is a solid drink neat. The cost may be a bit higher than Barbancourt, but I think for the quality it's worth it.

White, lightly aged, blanco or silver rums, whatever you want to call them are not typically rums that I drink neat, but I do have a good number of them, so I figured I would run thru 8 of them and see which one emerges the winner (between Angostura, Privateer, Havana Club, Cana Brava, Barbancourt, Flor de Cana, Banks 5 Island & El Dorado). I almost put this above the second one on the list, but it just wasn't as complex. This is one though I would gladly drink neat and it also works well in cocktails, albeit not as well as the first two on the list. The nose is heavy on the tropical fruits and vanilla. The palate is a bit grassy and oily, but quite pleasant. The finish has a bit of a burn to it, with hints of pepper. The burn may just be the reason I put it as the third one on the list instead of higher, but either way for the price you can't go wrong with this bottle.

White, lightly aged, blanco or silver rums, whatever you want to call them are not typically rums that I drink neat, but I do have a good number of them, so I figured I would run thru 8 of them and see which one emerges the winner (between Angostura, Privateer, Havana Club, Cana Brava, Barbancourt, Flor de Cana, Banks 5 Island & El Dorado). I did not expect this one to land in the top 4, but it ended up being serviceable neat for sure. It has shined in most cocktails I have used it in and overall is a very solid white rum. The nose has butter and nutmeg notes. The palate is creamy, with green apple, vanilla and cloves. The finish does have a slight burn to it and a bit of sweetness. I wasn't expecting to like this neat, but I was wrong, it's solid. I wouldn't forgo an aged rum for it, but if someone offered it, I would gladly take it. It also is a bit cheaper than some of the others on the list, which puts it as a strong value choice.

White, lightly aged, blanco or silver rums, whatever you want to call them are not typically rums that I drink neat, but I do have a good number of them, so I figured I would run thru 8 of them and see which one emerges the winner (between Angostura, Privateer, Havana Club, Cana Brava, Barbancourt, Flor de Cana, Banks 5 Island & El Dorado). It was very hard to determine if this was better than Banks or not, but in the end I went with this one since it felt more balanced. I did miss the grassy notes of the Banks though, so it was close. Either way, I would lean towards cocktails only for this one. The nose features dried fruit and citrus notes. The palate has a mineral taste to it, with a bit of sweetness and vanilla, which is then followed by tropical fruit notes. The finish is a little bit longer than the first 3 on the list, with little burn. It is a slight step up, although very close to Banks. I wouldn't say no to this neat, but I would probably stick to cocktails for this white rum.

White, lightly aged, blanco or silver rums, whatever you want to call them are not typically rums that I drink neat, but I do have a good number of them, so I figured I would run thru 8 of them and see which one emerges the winner (between Angostura, Privateer, Havana Club, Cana Brava, Barbancourt, Flor de Cana, Banks 5 Island & El Dorado). Another white rum that I expected I would like better, this one sadly did not fare all that well. As a cocktail white rum, this is a solid choice and makes a very good daiquiri, but outside of that I was surprised at how simple this rum ended up being. The nose is a bit funky with overripe bananas. I would say it's my favorite part of drinking this one, while the palate is decent, but leans a bit too much into the sweetness with a bit of tropical fruit and grassy notes. It feels disjointed and the finish is short and hot. It is definitely a step up from the Angostura and Flor de Cana white rums, it just doesn't beat out the others in the list. There is a good rum in there, it just doesn't shine neat, stick to cocktails for this one.

White, lightly aged, blanco or silver rums, whatever you want to call them are not typically rums that I drink neat, but I do have a good number of them, so I figured I would run thru 8 of them and see which one emerges the winner (between Angostura, Privateer, Havana Club, Cana Brava, Barbancourt, Flor de Cana, Banks 5 Island & El Dorado). I was not expecting this to be so low on my list, but Flor de Cana Seco 4-year white rum is too generic and while I've seen it work well in a daiquiri, it is absolutely a cocktail or mixer rum only. The nose is faint with molasses and ethanol. The palate is dry with a hint of oak and vanilla. Again, nothing special here. The finish is very quick, with a touch of burn and some sweetness. There really isn't much to say about this rum, it's too generic and offers little in the way of complexity. If you plan to mix with this only, then I would gladly pick this up over Bacardi, but not by much.

White, lightly aged, blanco or silver rums, whatever you want to call them are not typically rums that I drink neat, but I do have a good number of them, so I figured I would run thru 8 of them and see which one emerges the winner (between Angostura, Privateer, Havana Club, Cana Brava, Barbancourt, Flor de Cana, Banks 5 Island & El Dorado). The first one on the list, happens to also be my least favorite. Angostura 3-year white rum is about as close as we will get to a vodka like rum on this list. Is it serviceable? I guess, but I wouldn't reach for this in any situation and sort of falls into the Bacardi white rum category of a mixer only. I would avoid putting this in a stirred cocktail, stick to long drinks. The nose is short with a touch of oak and ethanol. The palate is just as boring, with a touch of lemon peel and sweetness. The finish is vodka like, with pepper and some slight burn. Again, I would avoid this, especially if you like to drink white rums neat. The cost is cheap, but you get what you pay for here.