Probitas White Blended Rum

I can’t really comment on this rum by itself, but can confirm that it makes a damn good daiquiri. Had my go to daiquiri pretty dialed in using Flor de Cana (which I think is great for cocktails), swapped this in, and wow. Took an already fantastic drink up a notch for sure.

A scant trace of aging is betrayed by the subtle straw hue in the otherwise nearly clear liquid. Not oily, but shows a weight when swirled. The packaging is acceptable on the whole - while the matte paper labels seem unnecessarily like working draft mockups, the unique neck bulb and lip results in an attractive bottle shape overall. The nose is quite floral, then saccharine, and laced with soft fruits like honeydew and white peach. Pineapple bark. White cake. Marjoram. Almond extract. A bit of petroleum. It carries a zippy punch throughout that doesn’t quite scream “ethanol”, but is enough to force you out of a nosing. A creamy palate that is rich with flavor, yet somehow soft. It mirrors the nose - pineapple bark, melon, jasmine. Quite saccharine, but sharp and tangy with a strong vein of vegetation, like agave in a dry tequila or sotol. Allspice berry. Banana peel. Tarragon. This is pretty good – unadultered, interesting, and a touch exotic but not challenging. I like it in the second half of the bottle with plenty of air rather than freshly opened. Oxygen seems to round off the sharpness of the Hampden distillate for the better. Plenty enjoyable to sip if you like youthful white rums with some elegance, but punchy enough for a daquiri with intrigue. Recommended – only real knock is that a couple similarly quality blended rums (Banks 5 Island, Denizen 3 Year) can be had in the low-$20s, while this is usually $25-$30.

Here’s the fuckin deal on Probitas. You can gussy up the pedigree all you want, and god knows I like Foursquare, but you’re approaching an average $30 price point for .750 of rum. That means you’re suddenly in the realm of competition with a lot of serious, aged, pedigreed product. So for a white rum, which is going to be used with frequency, you’d better be able to drastically outshine a 1.75l bottle of Plantation 3 Star. Spoilers: it doesn’t. That’s the problem - it isn’t bad, but it doesn’t remotely justify its pricepoint where that $30 could do a ton of damage with some very fine rums.

Rating: 11/23 This is on the short list of white rums that are actually supposed to be good and have personality. Maybe it will be a new staple. N: There's some richness to the nose along with the sweetness. It's a bit of that typical Jamaican funk leading into some caramel and tropical fruits. Green banana, orange, papaya. There are some nice mellow spices too (in the cinnamon and ginger range). Seems solid, though the sweet alcohol definitely is coming through. P: Sweet with the tropical fruits from the nose, but a bit tarter. More of the orange peel than I'd expected. Some spices and heat. Ginger, a little black pepper even, and also a touch of cayenne. A bit of alcohol flavor comes through, but it's not too bad. There's pretty substantial heat. A bit of barrel tannin. Light vanilla. A touch of herbal character with light (non-rotting) vegetal funk. Not terribly complex though. F: Not a ton happening here. The burn lingers. A bit of sweetness with some orange peel, ginger, and faint pepper. Faint hints of herbal and vegetal flavors. - Conclusion - Although I taste the alcohol a bit more than I'd like, I like the higher proof that this has for mixing. Plantation 3 Stars (11/23) has a fruiter, sweeter, more approachable flavor that shows the alcohol less, but for mixing I'd probably go with this. It's a tough call between the two for sipping neat, but if I had to pick a winner between this and the Plantation... I'd call it a draw. Way to pick a side, me. I like the spiciness and bit of herbal character here, but the fruitiness in the plantation is more traditionally enjoyable. There's perhaps something faintly artificial about the Plantation, but it's slight. Between the two, I might lean toward this as a result, but it's still very close. What keeps me from rating this a 12 is that Ancient Ancient Age 10 Star (12/23) is definitely better than this is - and it isn't even a high 12. Since this isn't a liqueur, I'm rating it as a sipper rather than a mixer, but I do think that it's better as a mixer and would consider it for that purpose. If this and the Plantation were the same price, I would definitely pick this, but seeing as this is more expensive (and harder to find), I'm unlikely to choose it as a staple. This is more like a high 11, but it's an 11 nonetheless. Reading more about this now, it's unaged Coffey rum mixed with 2 year old pot still. I think the unaged Coffey was a mistake. I'd love a bit less heat and alcohol flavor here.

Appearance: clear, pale yellow/straw color, almost white. Nose: clean and light with an interesting ester profile. Some ripe, dark fruit citrus notes behind the heavier notes of the Jamaican rum. Palate: Full palate, off-dry to dry, smooth, warming mouth feel. Light in flavor with subtle offerings of over ripe citrus that lingers at the back of the palate. Had some tinges of a light blanco tequila. Overall a very good white rum, perfect for a light flavor cocktail like a daiquiri