Don Q Cristal Rum

Don Q Cristal is clear, with extremely tiny sediment specks. The alcohol legs are uniform. The aroma is of very light molasses and oak. The flavor is of those elements, with present alcohol. The body is medium, and Don Q Cristal finishes moderately long. RJT

Great replacement for Bacardi in your speed rail. Low price with a lot more authentic Rum flavor

Perhaps my favorite of the cheap white rums. Very dry on the nose. The taste is lightly sweet and very “classic rum”. A bit dry on the taste, but that makes it a much better base for cocktails.

The perfect white rum in my opinion, with a rich aroma of sugar cane and warm inviting alcohol that is smooth to drink with no burn this rum is sweet and clean to the last drop to pair perfectly with any mixer you throw at it.

In a store looking for a budget unaged rum for a party cocktail this weekend, and all my usual brands that I like to peruse are either missing or do not have an unaged version. I've never heard of Don Q, but at least it is imported, and was cheap, as evident from being on the second to bottom shelf. Being next to a 151 proof aged version was also a little impressive, since overproof rums are hard to come by at all, let alone in toxic Ohio. What I did not know until looking it up after getting home is that this is actually aged, with the color removed. At no place on the bottle is this stated, which is such a lost reasoning to me, and I cannot understand why only bottom shelf rums do this (looking at you, Bacardi). I'm hoping this actually does taste more on the awful range than expected, so I can perhaps use it in my cocktail that calls for unaged rum. A nose of lemon, lime, and unripe banana begin things off, with an unequivocal note of high-quality, hospital-level hand sanitizer. Given the trickery here, I would expect to smell oak or barrel notes given the abnormally high age, but if they are there, it's very artificial. In fact, the remaining scent of white pepper and various citrus oils (a focus on grapefruit), are all what I would expect to find on an unaged rum. An initial taste comes up of a bright yet powerful floral flavor. The spirit slightly tickles the gums, and as it does so, a slightly spicy, floral, and citrusy flavor seeps in, very reminiscent of juniper berries and other gin flavors. This is where any fun had ends, however; as soon as the mouth is opened, all alcohol flavor seeps out, and a watery liquid is all that's left behind. As another slap in the face, a distinct finish note I'm getting is that of an unaged, neutral spirit or grain (such as corn or wheat), reminding me of vodka or new make; what is this distillery trying to make? A disappointment is a great word to sum things up here, because this is slightly worse than I expected it to be, but it also isn't a colossal, laughable failure. Instead, we have a spirit that clearly is not sure what it wants to embody or taste like, and I'm left a little more understanding of Don Q being one of the only other distilleries to create a rum they specifically label as "151." Fortunately (in all the wrong ways), I believe I can still salvage this for use in a batched cocktail, since everyone that's partaking in it has never spent more than $25 on any bottle of anything in their lives. Having said that, Don Q Cristal being the perfect candidate to fill such a roll does not a good selling point make.

Fine for mixing.

Not really into clear liquor; but received this as a gift, along with some barrel aging spirals. Decided to taste test it prior to adding the wood. This isn’t bad neat, in fact it is quite drinkable. Of course, it would be better as a mixer. After leaving the aging spiral in for two weeks there was little change except the alcohol burn was slightly intensified.