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Bristol Black Spiced Rum
Distiller Score 90
Unlike many spiced rums targeted at the shot-loving crowd, the Bristol Black is neither a vanilla bomb nor overpoweringly sweet. In the glass, it’s an almost impenetrable deep mahogany color. The nose is deceptively delicate, but take a sip and experience an explosion of fruitcake, mince, and tea. It finishes with a delightful tobacco note. At 82 proof, it’s easily sipped neat but could easily withstand a touch more ABV. An ideal rum for sipping by a roaring fire while it snows outside.
Reviewed by Matt Pietrek
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Dead Man's Drop Black Spiced Rum
Distiller Score 83
The rum opens with heavily honeyed-chocolate, the vanilla cascading into a heavily-spiced fruit cake. Heaped ginger and cinnamon arrive at the party, towing orange and wood in their wake. Moving onto the palate, we find the rum to be the consistency of thick syrup, Mānuka honey flowing out from the edges. The rum sits heavy, waiting and pouring out waves of spice, orange off into the palate. The finish is long running and cloying, the ginger and heavy spice of cinnamon far more akin to a thicker drink. The wood is the last to leave, dropping a slight bitterness in its wake.
Reviewed by Marcus Parmenter
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One-Eyed Jon Spice Flavored Rum
Distiller Score 79
Lots of coffee, cinnamon, and clove on the nose and a hint of cherry cough syrup. This isn't a sweet spiced rum and that's a good thing. It's actually a bit light on its feet and reserved on the palate, which lets the spices do the talking. Those spices aren't entirely in your face and abrasive, but they are there and would probably be mostly hidden in a cola cocktail. Probably best to try this one in some subtler cocktails. Even perhaps, on ice with a lime wedge.
Reviewed by Paul Belbusti