Doorly's 12 Year Rum

This one reminds me more of a bourbon than a rum. I guess 12 years in American oak will do that. ;) The nose is sweet and buttery. There are notes of sugar, spice, and everything nice. There is a strong hit of vanilla, bananas foster, a bit of caramel, also some musty wood and a touch of herbs. The taste is bittersweet with burnt sugar, rye spice, toffee, and a bit of leather. Nice body, substantial but not too syrupy. The finish is mild, starting with Demerara sugar, then fading to semidry oak and a pinch of mint.

Rating: 17/23 N: I get some mellow but not musty wood from the barrel mixed with tropical fruits. Banana, pineapple, some orange, possibly mango. Some spices come out from the barrel as well. There's a richness that's somewhere between caramel and molasses. It's a solidly complex and very balanced and paradigmatic rum nose. P: Wow, this is smooth with some nice richness that reminds me of Plantation Trinidad! It's tasty with lots of vanilla and age and complex rum flavors like fireworks that aren't overstated and some cinnamon, pepper, and ginger. Plantation Xamaca is much fruitier and more interesting in a rougish, rebellious high-schooler manner than this is, but I still get the tropical fruits from the nose, with just a dash of added tropical tartness like maybe some lemon or lime. In comparison, Plantation Xamaca is endearing, but harsh, sort of like Dalwhinnie 15. I also did a side-by-side with Appleton Estate 12 and the Appleton Estate tastes more aged with more of those standard woody flavors with some floral vanilla and spice, but it's also surprisingly harsher and less balanced and rounded. The Appleton might have more complexity, but I'm not actually sure it does. It's like the Appleton is a Japanese whisky to Doorly's scotch. F: Some lingering wood and fruit, along with vanilla and a pervading spicy burn that isn't harsh. A nice finish that continues with the tale weaved by the nose and palate. Show less Wow. This has to be at least a 16. I can even imagine a 17 or 18. For a $25 spirit, that's amazing! With most spirits, 40% ABV seems like a cop out, but in this case the balance, complexity, and smoothness come out beautifully. It's about as smooth as Appleton Estate 12 is, but I prefer the more fun, balanced profile of Doorly's 12 perhaps just a tad. It's definitely a step up from the XO, which is also quite good. The Appleton and Plantation Xaymaca have been growing on me, but I still think I like this Doorly's the best. It's damn fine stuff. I'll give it a 17 this time. Sadly, it is far from the greatness of Plantation Trinidad 2003, but for less than half the price (and as something that can actually be found), this is a fantastic choice.

Nose - dark molasses, caramelized banana, toasted marshmallow, coconut, brown sugar, vanilla, powdered sugar, toffee, honey, grass, pineapple, orange zest, allspice, apple, mild to moderate ethanol burn. Taste - molasses, honey, pineapple, ginger, pear, overripe banana, brown sugar, caramel, orange zest, vanilla, grass, tobacco, white pepper, allspice, clove, bubble gum, mild to moderate alcohol bite, finishing medium length with molasses, citrus zest, banana, and baking spice flavors. As I embark on the final stretch of my rum review series and tackle some of my favorite Foursquare offerings, it’s fitting to begin with their little brother, the Doorly’s 12 Year. The nose is rather confectionary with caramelized banana, powdered sugar, marshmallow, and toffee. The palate is sweet and rich with more citrus than on the nose. There’s even a hint of bubble gum in the mid palate. There’s little I can say about this gem that hasn’t already been said. It’s without a doubt my favorite rum at $25 a bottle or under. As long as Total Wine continues to stock these, there will be one on my shelf. I came very close to rating this a 4.0, but it’s just slightly too underproofed and watery for me to get there.

Breaking the fast on my dry month (2nd of the year) and I’m grabbing a…rum? Well it’s been a long time coming. I’ve been taking a hard look at other brown spirits, specifically armagnac and rum. I’ve picked up some bottles based on reviews and hoping to either expand my horizons or renew my whiskey vows 💯. To the experience we go! Nose: I’m hit with a vapor of cherry cola cough syrup mixed with some oaky vanilla and caramel. The sugary/cough syrupy smell has never been my favorite and has been the main reason I haven’t been a rum fan to this point but @ContemplativeFox and others swear by this product so going in with an open mind. I’m now dreading the initial taste but the community’s vote of confidence keeps me hopeful. About 10 minutes in the glass and the nose opens up quite a bit. The cherry cola cough syrup note is now almost gone and what you’re left with is this deep caramel and sweet vanilla goodness, much akin to a well made bourbon. Hope springs! Now to the taste. Palate follows the caramel vanilla nose but now enveloped by a velvet cloud of Molasses funk, which is also surprisingly well-integrated. Like in a cloud frappachino kind of way. There’s a noticeable alcohol bite for a 40% abv. Some oak tannins in the mid palate but it’s balanced with the “sweetness”. Mid to long finish that lingers. The cherry cola now shows up again to remind you it’s a rum but this time it’s complementary and is more amenable to my taste. This drinks a lot ike [american] whiskey finished in rum barrels. It’s pretty good. Factor in the sub $20 price and this is a no-brainer for any whiskey drinkers looking to dip their toes into the rum pool. Not gonna say I’m a full convert but I can see going back to this when I’m a mood for something different that doesn’t stray too far from bourbon or single malt whiskey. I picked up Appleton estate 21yr and a cask strength 25Yr old Kirk & Sweeney, which will either reinforce my apathy or move me closer to expanding my horizons…to rum. Who knew. Cheers PoD!

This may be one of the great bargains in booze! I'm on my last couple of tastes in the bottle. It has gone too quickly. The nose is sweet, wonderfully syrupy, caramel, nougat, french toast all nicely presented. On the palate this delivers everything the nose promises and more. It is very approachable, sweet, the maple syrup is there, a touch of hogo, quite rich. I'm no expert on rum, but I've had my share. This is superb. The fact that it is under $30 is simply mind-boggling. If you are even slightly curious about rum, start here.

So, sniffing this I could easily confuse it with a Sam Houston or another variation of 13-15yo Barton. There are tons of tannic oak notes, vanilla and overripe banana. So much of the aroma is bourbon territory. At best there is a drop fried plantain and kerosene that makes me think “hogo.” Regardless, this is interesting. If I fish for it there could be some clove and nutmeg as well as a bit of leather. Vanilla, brown sugar, fried plantains and oak but without being cloying. Wow. Medium mouthfeel. Finish full of sun dried tobacco, Madagascar vanilla pod and oak. Some of the oily fried plantain is in there as well to remind me this isn’t bourbon - but it’s damn close. Here’s the kicker - Sam Houston 14 was around $125 and honesty not as enjoyable as this for my own palate. This is just sweeter and less tannic with softer edges. The kicker is that I paid $25 for this. What a fool I am. If this was just a tad spicier I would kick this to a 4.5 but because I’m in denial and this isn’t perfect I’ll say 4.0 but in ways, per my own scale, this could be a 5 in that it is absolutely eye opening for me. I legitimately might tell a few friends this is bourbon and see what happens…