Beenleigh Copper Pot Distilled Rum

Nose: Bright. Nail polish, vinyl, apple, light banana, weak honey. If I try real hard I can almost convince myself there is vanilla. Palate: A soft, slightly fruity arrival with more of a sweet cereal than a molasses or sugar character. Very little development at all - it becomes dryer and some saccharine flavours appear. Weak black tea. Finish: Lingering, the artificial sweetener flavour descends into metallic sourness at the end. Immediately after pouring there is an aroma like solvent and industrial alcohol that is reminiscent of distillation foreshots. Over time as the volatile compounds evaporate it settles down to a generically fruity character. Whilst not actively awful neat, it's just not very nice, and is more like a bottom-shelf supermarket blended whisky than rum. This is unequivocally a mixing spirit and it should not be consumed in its naked state. Drowning it in cola and ice deadens the flavor and produces an acceptable rum-flavoured beverage. I can't agree with the official rating here of 86. I can only image that the exported bottles are of a higher quality than the ones they keep for the domestic market. “Inferior" : 65/100 (1.5 stars)