Rating: 14/23 N: Rich and full. I get bitterness that's in the burnt sugar range and has some wood. It's fairly oily as well, but also sugary, sort of like someone was making toffee with a neutral oil and stopped stirring for a bit, allowing it to burn a little on the bottom without fully cooking on the top. I get vague suggestions of fruit, ginger, and vanilla, but they're distant. It's mostly just that initial profile. P: Sweet and rich with some bland caramel flavor at first before it opens up and some faint peanuts come in mixed with a fairy's dusting of spices, vague medium wood, and some tropical fruit that is notably backed by some nearly elegant candied oranges and lime rinds. I get a nice mellow vanilla backing too. There is something a bit too sweet and youthful at first in this, but then the palate really fills out nicely. It could be fuller, but the fullness is solid. The complexity is solid too. F: That sweetness and richness lasts nicely. I continue to get some of that fruitiness mixed with really mellow woodiness and oddly some more maturity than I got for most of the palate. This is a nice finish, actually. - Conclusion - I was not too impressed by this at first, but it quickly grew on me. Bacardi can make some good rum. And at just 8 years old I find that this competes well with Appleton Estate 12. The Appleton Estate does strike me as more mature, but it often seems a bit on the woody side to me, whereas this is more generally rounded and easily sippable. In that regard, it's like Plantation 20th Anniversary, though the alcohol shows through a bit more here and there's more bitterness (lime peel) and it tastes like they added less sugar. This is stylistically different, but it strikes me as on the same level as Plantation Xaymaca. I think that they probably deserve the same rating, though if I had to give the nod to one of them, I'd probably give it to this. This is an easy sipping rum that is worth stocking for when someone who doesn't like spirits comes over. Bacardi Reserva Limitada is far less full, but its complexity and maturity do overtake what I get out of this when it's not immediately following this. It's a tough call between the two, but this has a rougher flavor when it follows the Reserva Limitada. I think I'd give the win to the Reserva Limitada, but they're stylistically different and it's not winning by a huge margin. With the Reserva Limitada being a 15, this is probably a 14.