Tastes

Very good stuff. Molasses-focused, heavy on the spices too. I was looking for just this type of black rum and I was lucky enough to find it on my first attempt. One word of caution: do NOT have it on the rocks by itself. I don’t know what I was thinking. It went from pleasant molasses to burnt plastic. No redeeming qualities when it’s on the rocks. Otherwise, if you’re not a dummy like me, it’s a nice rich rum.

For some, this rum might be a tad too cloyingly sweet and a little heavy on the chocolate-orange notes. For me, I’ve been serving it up in a warm glass here and there this winter and it’s actually been quite nice. It’s not your average rum, and that might be good or bad depending on what you want out of a drink. Mixing with coke saves me the effort of adding any curaçao or anything because it’s got that citrus sweetness already. Hey, maybe it’s just meant to be a wintertime drink.

Okolehao isn’t made on a wide scale outside of this single product that also happens to be relatively rare, which I can certainly appreciate. It’s got a distinct vegetal taste, almost like some kind of drinkable aftershave—that’s better than it may sound. Think of Chartreuse. One problem I have is that the finish has a very intense burn to go along with the ti root taste. Haven’t tried using it in a mixed drink yet but I imagine it’ll be hard to find a balance between the very in-your-face alcohol, the subtle vegetal flavor, and whatever you’re mixing it with.