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Ron Diplomático Ambassador Rum
Distiller Score 97
There’s a lot going on here. There’s fruit (lemon, apricot, orange), herbs (sage, thyme), woodsy botanicals (cedar, birch beer), spice (allspice, clove, ginger, black pepper), strong coffee and a sage-y herbal funk. A fun rancio effect seems to have been imparted from the PX casks (new band name - Rancio Effect) and it finishes long and pretty. A slight tobacco smoke to tie it all together makes you understand why sipping rum and cigar smoking are an age old tradition.
Reviewed by Amanda Schuster
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Brugal Papá Andrés 2015 Alegría Edition Rum
Distiller Score 98
A deep, resonating nose captures your attention immediately, with raisins, candied fruits, brown sugar, and caramel. Find a luscious, velvety mouthfeel with a complex but balanced palate, offering oak, sherry, dried fruit and a light caramel and molasses. The finish starts slow then builds to a pleasant, lingering warming, with closing notes of spice, wood and sherry.
Reviewed by Jake Emen
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El Dorado 25 Year Rum
Distiller Score 96
Of course a demerara style rum of this age is going to be heavy and rich. However, there's an impressive finesse to it. Dark, roasty chocolate, molasses, brown sugar, caramel and espresso are cut with earthy walnut and bitter, smoky tobacco. This possesses more spice than the other expressions -with sprinklings of cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and clove. If you're lucky enough to sip this, you're definitely doing something right in your life.
Reviewed by Amanda Schuster
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SelvaRey Owner's Reserve Rum
Distiller Score 90
Orange peel, mulling spices, coffee and caramel warm the nose. The palate is very roasty and a bit woody, with an earthy espresso flavor anchoring the sweeter notes of dark brown sugar and a slight citrus tartness. It's not funky, but it's definitely rich and satisfying for neat sipping.
Reviewed by Amanda Schuster
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Facundo Paraíso XA Rum
Distiller Score 84
Surprisingly muted on the nose. Eventually, notes of green bananas, vanilla, fresh herbs, and clove present themselves. The palate is a very different story. It starts out quite bold and sweet with an unexpected blast of guava followed by vanilla, burnt sugar, tropical fruits, and pipe tobacco all without a trace of the heat on the nose. The sweetness is intense, very pervasive and lingers for quite some time, while the finish is balanced but quiet. Overall the spirit is very complex but lacking the balance this price point demands.
Reviewed by Omari Wheat
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Plantation Extrême No. 3 Jamaica ITP 1996
Distiller Score 94
French oak, berries, and blossoming flowers combine for a nose at first reminiscent of a cognac, shifting into the sweltering esters and ripe fruits you'd expect from this type of rum. A booming palate follows, fiery and bold with every flavor resonating: cinnamon, baking spices, oak, molasses, a smorgasbord of tropical fruits. A long finish is replete with rich, syrupy berries, cane sugar, incense, and a lovely, lingering full-body warmth.
Reviewed by Jake Emen
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Appleton Estate Joy Anniversary Blend
Distiller Score 96
The huge nose bursts with rum raisin backed by tropical funk, with flambéed bananas, citrus zest, orange peel, and brown butter. Palate offers vanilla bean and tropical fruits, with rich molasses, dry oak, allspice, and cloves. Long, smooth finish offers some black pepper and oak, with an emphasis on more molasses with brown sugar. Luscious.
Reviewed by Jake Emen
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Goslings Papa Seal Single Barrel Rum (2018 Release)
Distiller Score 87
Molasses, vanilla bean and caramel all shine through on the nose, along with brown butter pound cake and caramelized bananas. The palate offers dark brown sugar with cinnamon and cloves, along with milk chocolate and more vanilla. The finish showcases resonating cola spice, with molasses and chocolate syrup. Barrel #11.
Reviewed by Jake Emen
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Foursquare Triptych
Distiller Score 95
The aroma provides notes of tropical fruit, dark chocolate, roasted nuts and charred oak. As you taste, the rum reveals these same aforementioned notes along with spices, dried orange peel, and cherry. As the rum flavors transitions and fades the smoky oak flavors linger in a long pleasantly dry finish.
Reviewed by Paul Senft
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Mount Gay The Port Cask Expression
Distiller Score 90
The aromas are quite intense displaying a mix of tropical and cooked fruits along with a good dose of oak. Sweet flavors of butterscotch and vanilla are also to be found here as well as a bit of milk chocolate. The rum is full on your palate with more of the cooked fruits and sweet flavors coming through here. The finish is tangy and a little bitter which gives some depth to the rum.
Reviewed by Stephanie Moreno
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Appleton Estate 30 Year Rum
Distiller Score 96
On the nose there is orchard blossoms, golden apples stewed with maple, cinnamon, ginger, cedar and candied orange zest delicately buttressed by vanilla. The palate is much lighter than you may expect from the nosing, but the flavors are intricate iterations of the aromas— presented with flowers, oxidized fruit, dark wood tones, voluptuous baking spices and creamy caramel/vanilla. The finish clings, showing molasses, maple, soft spice and sumptuous oak nuances.
Reviewed by Forrest Cokely
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Appleton Estate 17 Year Legend
Distiller Score 97
The nose is an intriguing balance of tart mango and papaya accented by notes of vanilla, earthy brewed black Assam tea, toasted applewood, tobacco, sage, and hints of sweet spice. The palate is well balanced between sweetness, earthiness, and spice, characterized by baked tropical fruits, baked peaches, fresh tart cherry, raisins, allspice, and butterscotch. A pleasant bit of herbal hogo funk and pipe tobacco add to the mix and carry the flavors into the finish.
Reviewed by Amanda Schuster