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Clément XO Rhum Agricole
Distiller Score 95
The aromas open with leather and licorice, toffee and tobacco. A secondary set of aromas quickly appear represented by coffee, sugar cookies, and candied fruit. The rhum enters with a sublime balance of sweet and smoky oak, black pepper, licorice, and cane syrup. The oaky tannins coat the tongue and despite the perceived sweetness, the silky mouthfeel rapidly dries out completely. Subsequent sips continue to provide anise and licorice notes, as well as saddle leather, rich cigar-tobacco and a hint of grapefruit. Complex and sublime, this rhum is typically well-received by lovers of brandy and whisk(e)y. Not to be missed.
Reviewed by Josh Miller
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Capovilla Liberation PMG RHUM
Distiller Score 98
The nose is a hypnotic confluence of unrefined sugar, copper pennies, almonds and orange peel coupled with freshly cut sugarcane, coconut flesh, and coffee. If the aromas aren’t enough to cast a spell, the palate will certainly win you over. Fruity flavors of peach skin, pineapple, passion fruit; spicy and rich flavors of clove, anise, and tobacco; and pungent, strange (put not oft-putting) flavors like rubber, petrol, iodine, and Magic Marker. This is a spectacular rhum that slithers seductively along the palate like a serpent.
Reviewed by Omari Wheat
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Clément Cuvée Homere Rhum Agricole
Distiller Score 92
The initial nosing yields virtually no astringency. There is a leather note along with a bit of smoke and tobacco. A grassy sweetness is suggested, as is dried fruit and spices including black pepper, anise and allspice. As the rum enters your palate it is coated with oak as the spices move to mid-palate. There is a bit of cane syrup along with orange marmalade, dried figs, dried apricots and dates here now. In contrast to the sweet imagery, however, the rhum is ultimately very dry. Digging deeper, the smoke and tobacco notes pervade. The finish is dominated by a symphony of licorice/anise/fennel notes.
Reviewed by Josh Miller
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Capovilla Rhum Rhum PMG Rhum Blanc Agricole 56%
Distiller Score 94
The spirit is quite dense and complex with an unrelenting array of aromas and flavors. Rubber band and nail polish (though not oft-putting), freshly cut grass and sugarcane, vegetal green beans and water chestnuts are some of the aromas you first sense. This is followed by grapefruit and orange creamsicle before mineral and metallic notes come through with an oyster brine aroma. It is quite pure and fruity on the palate with notes of raspberry, lemon zest, and tropical fruits like banana and coconut, but there’s also a hint of rubber. Despite its sometimes contradictory flavors, it is completely alluring.
Reviewed by Omari Wheat
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Appleton Estate 21 Year Limited Edition
Distiller Score 95
The nose yields a heavy dose of oak that blends effortlessly with caramel, melted brown sugar, vanilla and Appleton's signature flamed orange note. There is virtually no astringency. The rum enters with moderate heat, and as the oaky base coats the tongue, an undercurrent of sweetness comes in to round things out. Another sip and the oak is still persistent, but now there is also milk chocolate, coffee, cinnamon, and allspice. Woven throughout the spices and treats from the bakery is a hint of citrus, dark cherries, and a bit of almond and walnut. The finish is long and complex with oaky tannins lingering as the fruity esters fade.
Reviewed by Josh Miller
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Goslings Family Reserve Old Rum
Distiller Score 91
On the nose, the Family Reserve offers molasses, tobacco, oak and hints of orange peel. The velvety palate continues with molasses and oak, as well as holiday spice notes of cinnamon, allspice and nutmeg. The warm finish is long and dry, with further smoky and spicy notes of oak and tobacco, cloves and dried fruit.
Reviewed by Daniel Djang
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Caroni 16 Year Cask Collection (A.D. Rattray)
Distiller Score 93
This is a no holds barred, heavyweight rum. The color is a deep amber, and the nose is redolent of leather, tobacco, and a sweet, diesel-like funk similar to St. Lucian rums. It’s hard to believe this came from a column-still. The first sip explodes with full-bodied, oily, smoky flavor-- the rum equivalent of a super-peaty Scotch. There’s no middle ground – you’ll either love or hate this rum. The finish is ridiculously long-- several orders of magnitude longer than your average spirit.
Reviewed by Matt Pietrek
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Ron Abuelo Centuria
Distiller Score 94
The immensely appealing nose combines vanilla and molasses with chocolate and coffee. The palate, rich with syrupy cane, avoids any cloying aspects by virtue of its lively, berry-like fruit, mulled cider, baked pear and tobacco notes--many of which continue into a lingering, smoldering finish.
Reviewed by Ron Bechtol
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St Lucia Rum 11 Year (Berry Bros. & Rudd)
Distiller Score 86
Strong, surprising, and complex aromas of Key lime, spearmint, and menthol. In the glass, there's a blast of more cool mint and eucalyptus. Additional sips reveal some subtle citrus fruit juices, particularly lemon and lime. The finish is long and cool, with some sweet apple and more menthol. A rum for those seeking a spirit completely out of the ordinary.
Reviewed by Paul Belbusti
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Foursquare Nobiliary
Distiller Score 96
Nobiliary is brown in color with very plummy, raisiny aromas, as well as some hints of warm vanilla and brown sugar. The influence of the bourbon casks is noticeable. Flavorwise, there's quite a lot of baking spice up front—think clove, cinnamon and cardamom. That's followed by rich stone fruit, grilled pineapple and coconut, bananas foster and a hint of pecan. The finish is mildly tingly and lingers for quite some time. This delightfully rich and complex rum gets better with each sip!
Reviewed by Anna Archibald
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Foursquare 2008
Distiller Score 92
Look for intense aromas of prunes, dried cherries, maple syrup and burnt sugar with more subtle notes of roasted banana. This rum is buttery on the palate, with an interesting complexity and rich fruit flavor of dark berries, vanilla, praline, cinnamon spice and black pepper. There's quite a long fade, with savory qualities coming through. Savor it a while and notice how the flavor evolves over time.
Reviewed by Anna Archibald
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Foursquare Sagacity
Distiller Score 90
Look for ripe banana, vanilla, deliciously stewed berries and oak on the nose of this amber-brown hued rum. On the palate it's quite zesty, with prominent, balanced notes of grapefruit rind, ginger and oak tannins. There's a long-lasting, tingly finish.
Reviewed by Anna Archibald