Plantation XO 20th Anniversary Rum

It has a sweet, caramel flavor that shows off a little wood but not enough for it to taste as old as it supposedly is. It has less wood than Ron Diplomatico Reserva Exclusiva. There are some varied flavors going on here. There is a little tartness in the background. The flavor is largely balanced and there is some complexity, but it is very sweet. Sweet with some mild allspice, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Wood from the barrel is present and so is caramel (maybe a hint of browned butter is there to suggest toffee). The flavor is fairly sweet but it is also balanced. The nose picks up a mild burnt flavor from the barrel that is reflected in the palate in a seamless manner. There is no alcohol flavor here. There might be a hint of banana, but it is minor. I really appreciate the balance. This is a great example of rum for those who can handle sweet liquor. It lacks the rich toffee notes of Ron Diplomatico Reserva Exclusiva, making it less enjouyable in my book. Ron Diplomatico might get a little Aggressive with the wood and smoke, imparting a biting and lingering bitter flavor, but that also provides some contrast. The mix of flavors is perhaps more subtle than in Ron Diplomatico, but it is also less robust and mouth-watering, and the subtlety can easily be lost. It's a very good example of standard rum, but it doesn't have that delightful, aged richness. If Ron Diplomatico is a bourbon, this is a sweet rye. There are a lot of successful mild flavors going on here, but they are easily overwhelmed, much like in an American Single Malt. There is a surprising smokey flavor on the finish, which does a lot to lift this up from the generic rabble of lightly aged rums. Not quite as good as Delord Bas Armagnac 1981, but surprisingly close in quality. It's sweet with caramel and banana hogo (fireworks). It's not amazingly robust or complex but it's a pretty nice drink. Certainly, it's can't be objected to as a mixer. It smells woody and caramel.with sweet butterscotchy notes and maybe a lite banana. The palate has a nice balance of Christmas baking spices that have a bit of a white pepper and clove kick to them. The hogo is there, but it blends well. The tropical fruits and banana do come out, but they aren't obtrusive. It tastes a bit like cola in a way that reminds me of the Plantation Trinidad 2003. This is a very nice drink that is easy to sip even though it is a bit sweet and immature tasting. I would happily sip this. The balance is very good. There are some nice flavors in here that are distinct from each other, bit it's on the sweet and mild side. Fireworks, butterscotch, some toffee, tropical fruits, some baking spices. It's a bit too sweet and weak, but it's quite good. It's sweet with lots of brown sugar and some caramel and also some delightful baking spices, including a lot of cinnamon without much harshness. There's some nice tropical fruits, with banana being the most prominent, but a bit of mango also being present. It isn't super woody, but it is fairly rich. The mouthfeel is moderate or a bit less. There's a tad of prickliness like the faintest Sichuan peppercorn, but it's super super subtle. There's some sweet and rich coconut too. It's very good, but it lacks the richness and punch that I really want and it's a bit too sweet and weak. It's oddly delicate. It's a very good Barbados rum, but Barbados is kind of a flat type of rum.