Privateer Single Cask

The nose is very tight, but with a few drops of water the notes start to come through starting with rich and sour citrus along with light floral notes then caramelized pineapple, fried bananas, tangerine orange and vanilla gelato that transitions to light spices of ginger, cloves and toasted whole wheat bread with high ethanol burn. The taste is a rich oily mouthfeel starting with light sour fruits and floral notes that then veers towards a moderate bitter spice before fading to dark chocolate covered cherries and pineapple upside down cake that transitions to ginger, cloves and light oak with high ethanol burn. The finish is long with frosted shredded wheat cereal, pineapple upside down cake, apricots, butterscotch and roasted cacao nibs. This is a fantastic rum that brings in those bold and rich tropical fruits along with some oak spices that tastes much older than the 4 years and 7 months it spent in a barrel, but still has a mild youthful sourness to it with a near perfect balance to it. Privateer clearly knows what they are doing as this can easily compete with some of my favorite rums from Foursquare. At around $80, Privateer is bringing some affordable and flavorful rums to the market that I think most high proof bourbon lovers would really enjoy. Thanks @soonershrink so much for this tasty dram.

Thanks to sooner for the sample. I had never heard of this Rum until @JonWilkinson praised the distillery in several reviews. Being born and raised in MA this makes me proud as they have really done a tremendous job here. The quality is excellent and the flavors pure. Rich oaky vanilla with a melted brown sugar sweetness perfectly balanced. Wonderful clean finish without any bad notes or bitterness. Lacking in hogo but not all rum needs it. I wish I could get my hands on a bottle. I am planning on being back in New England this summer so I may just have to find one to bring home with me.....87/100

Single cask store pick, 4 years 7 months, 59.7% ABV. First rum review. I'm pretty inexperienced with this spirit. I have a bottle of Mount Gay XO, and this is much better. The Mount Gay has an off note that I can't quite identify, but it's present all the way through from the nose to finish. The nose on this is pretty vanilla, both in the sense of kind of boring, but also sugary vanilla. The palate though surprises with much more depth than you expect given the nose. Could almost pass for a bourbon, maybe a rum-barrelled bourbon. Almost. Vanilla, caramel, pineapple, cherry. Upside-down pineapple cake. A little oak is present. This is quite good, although also quite sweet, which is also surprising since there are no additives - no added sugar, which I understand is common with many rums. I'm planning to sneak this into a blind whiskey tasting with friends to see how it comes across to others who don't know they're tasting a rum.