Rating: 10/23 OK, now this has a proof that competes with Everclear. I'm skeptical of it neat, but I have high hopes for it as a mixer. N: Surprisingly, very sweet. I get big molasses with a little lemon tartness and some spiciness that reminds me a bit of some of the vodkas I've tried that got rid of the meatiness but ended up being quite harsh. Yeah, that alcohol presence is really big here. I'm having trouble getting more, but I might have gotten a dash of wood at first. P: Tart, nutty, rich, molasses, maybe some wood. It took me a bit, but I've now realized that what this reminds me of is that sherry-aged bottle of Cambus I have. I presume it was aged in oloroso, explaining the tartness and nuttiness. I'm struggling to understand why those flavors would be present here though. This has a much stronger alcohol presence though, with a much flatter bitterness. The Cambus is sweeter and more complex with substantially better balance, but the basic profile does align fairly well. There's malt versus molasses and possible fireworks, but there is a common character here for sure. The Cambus is definitely a lot better, but this isn't awful. It does have a big bitter edge to it that is flat and hard to get past though. Adding a fair amount of water brings out some more complexity. In this state, there's more depth to the molasses and spices, with a bit of green banana and something savory that's a bit like a campfire coming in. This is actually kind of sippable. F: Faint hints of the molasses, spices, and lemon, but mostly a bitter abyss. Tons of char, perhaps. - Conclusion - I can't say I enjoyed this neat. I think I'd go for Plantation O.F.T.D. instead. It also has a weird flavor that I think makes it challenging as a mixer, but I really like how it tastes with water added, so I think there's great promise there. I don't even know what to think of that Cambus similarity. So adding substantial water took me from something like a 9 neat to more like a 7. Adding just a moderate amount of water left me looking at a 9 or 10. With the moderate amount of water having some lingering complexity, I think a 10 is warranted. As a neat pour, I'd pass. As a mixer, I still might recommend this though, if the price were right. I'll need to try some more overproof rums to compare and I might have to get some more of this to actually try as a mixer, but this kind of captures that pure dark rum essence in concentrated form. Thank you @ctbeck11 for the sample.