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Ron Abuelo 12 Años
Distiller Score 92
This is a rich and toasty rum, with butterscotch, vanilla, mango and banana flavors. It's a super smooth sipper that finishes with a creamy brown sugar sweetness and a hint of herbaceousness. It's delicious neat, doesn't even need an ice cube or water to open up, but it would also make an incredible dark and stirred cocktail such as an Old Fashioned.
Reviewed by Amanda Schuster
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Ron Diplomático Reserva Exclusiva Rum
Distiller Score 94
If someone says to you “I want a rum that really tastes like something,” this would be one of the ones to present. It’s bold, dark, fruity and full bodied. Sugary honey and butterscotch are accented with sage and thyme notes and a hint of citrus peel. Both sweet and hot spices give it a pleasing warmth that never ignites into a full burn, just creates a nice tingle. Simply one of the best bang for buck sipping rums available.
Reviewed by Amanda Schuster
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Papa's Pilar Marquesas Blend Rum
Distiller Score 90
On the nose, this richly hued rum has aromas of wood chips, sweet orange and a twinge of spearmint. It has lovely flavors of maple, vanilla, cocoa and candied orange peel. This would make a fantastic Old Fashioned sweetened with a touch of maple syrup, and it's also a great sip on its own.
Reviewed by Anna Archibald
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El Dorado 15 Year Rum
Distiller Score 94
This is a smooth, velvety and complex rum that's prime for sipping. Dark roast coffee, milk chocolate, vanilla and caramel are set off by citrus peel and a hint of tobacco. There's a good dose of delicious rummy herbal funk to round it off, ending with a sweet, brown sugar finish.
Reviewed by Amanda Schuster
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El Dorado 12 Year Rum
Distiller Score 88
The nose is redolent of caramel and molasses. Tasting it reveals a fairly sweet rum with chocolate and port wine notes battling it out, making the El Dorado 12 a very popular “gateway rum” for introducing people to “sipping rum.” The mouthfeel is thick and lush, mainly from sugar added post-distillation. It finishes with a bit of menthol that fades into cocoa. The El Dorado 12 is a greater whole than the sum of its three component rums, a testament to the master blender.
Reviewed by Matt Pietrek
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Kaniché XO Rum
Distiller Score 70
The nose is filled with aromas from a tropical bakery: coconut, cocoa, vanilla, caramel, toffee and coffee. There is also fruit including green mango and ripe papaya. The astringency that suggests a somewhat young distillate dissipates after a few minutes of breathing. The rum washes over the palate with more strong suggestions of tropical flavors--the coconut is almost overwhelming at this point. Combined with the ample cocoa and coffee, one might imagine some sort of island Tiramisu. Subsequent sips reveal some Sherry and loads of sugar and caramel. The brightness of the spirit appears to be the only component on the other side of the ledger, but further investigation reveals some cardamom and anise. The coconut finish is somewhat bitter and impossibly sweet (a hydrometer reading confirmed the inclusion of added sugar to the tune of 24 grams per liter). This one is more like a bottled cocktail than an aged rum.
Reviewed by Josh Miller
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Flor De Caña Centenario 18 Rum
Distiller Score 88
There is quite the juxtaposition of flavors and aromas here. The nose captures everything from dried flowers to cherry jam, cinnamon and ink. The flavors are a bit more typical with notes of cane sugar, tobacco and molasses on finish. Medium bodied with a hint of funk and sweetness.
Reviewed by Omari Wheat
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Appleton Estate Rare Blend 12 Year Rum
Distiller Score 92
This is a very aromatic rum; a bit of funky molasses, orange peel, caramelized bananas, and loads of brown sugar fill your senses. There's a slightly burnt wood aroma found as well, though this is all pleasurable. Fairly full on your palate, the rum is actually not as sweet as the aroma leads you to believe. The funk is still there joined with barrel spices and coffee with cream. The finish is slightly bitter and burnt.
Reviewed by Stephanie Moreno
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Zaya Gran Reserva 12
Distiller Score 90
Zaya Gran Reserva 12 debuts with massive vanilla, allspice and maple syrup tones that segue into gorgeous vanilla, wood and cocoa/mocha on the palate. Well-integrated spice and hints of roasted orange peel follow under a sheen of banked heat. The finish is sweet and lingering with ever-diminishing warmth. Definitely sweet but deftly balanced. Sip this slowly with nuts and hard cheeses.
Reviewed by Ron Bechtol
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Foursquare Port Cask Finish
Distiller Score 92
This is an exceptionally well-balanced rum with a tart, tangy grape flavor from the port finishing that heads off its sweetness at just the right point. Maple, brown sugar and rich, roasted coffee settle in with luscious orchard and tropical fruits, vanilla and some gentle sweet spice. A tinge of herbal funk cuts in playfully throughout.
Reviewed by Amanda Schuster
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Dos Maderas 5+5 Rum
Distiller Score 82
The nose is fairly quiet but what exist is dark with a surprisingly vegetal edge to it. More specifically it exhibits cherry coke, cocoa, grilled peaches, herbs, broccoli stalks and Madeira wine. The palate is SUPER sweet and sticky with similar notes as the aroma in addition to black licorice, tobacco and maple syrup, though these notes took some time to come out. The finish is silky with a healthy amount of bitterness to it. This lingers on quite a while so an affinity for bitterness helps. While on its own overwhelming, there is likely a cocktail out there where this rum will be absolutely irreplaceable.
Reviewed by Omari Wheat
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Ron Zacapa 23 Sistema Solera Rum
Distiller Score 92
Ron Zacapa 23 Sistema Solera Rum is enduringly one of the most pleasurable dark rums to sip neat. At first the sweet notes of roasted coffee, butterscotch, vanilla and dark chocolate appear, then some fresh citrus and apricot refresh the palate with green herbal accents, nutmeg and ginger. The long finish includes flavors of caramel, pipe tobacco, cedar and roasted nuts.
Reviewed by Amanda Schuster