While looking for a mixing aged rum that wasn't color-removed (which is shocking how hard that is to find), this caught my eye with the amalgam of different features and methodology. 5 years is an alright age statement for a mixing rum, but I mostly liked the blend of distilling methods and cask choices. There's enough here to keep things interesting while just tasting it neat, even with it still being the classic low 80 proof. I also like the rear label and the shockingly stacked amount of information on it, including a whole review from Paul Pacult (with a "highest recommendation" remark but only 4 stars next to it, odd). There's a lot of potential here, but that can only get you so far. The color is really light (golden straw yellow) for spending time in 2 different barrels, but I'm willing to bet the cognac barrels were likely on their third or more fill, so that didn't quite help it. The word "amalgam" comes back to mind on the nose, with all kinds of competing notes: unripe coconut, mushroom, red berries, and brown sugar, all combined with the classic molasses and sugar cane. Everything is somehow balanced yet aggressively competitive, but the body is light enough to not push the scent too hard. The initial flavor is a bit of sweet sugar, but this quickly explodes into an even bigger sweetness from added notes of brown sugar. A molasses flavor develops after this, but only imparts a faint hint of sorghum to keep things away from the bitterness. This really is the only flavor development, and although the body is light enough that it gives that familiar watery taste, it also prevents too heavy of a sweetness from taking over the whole palate. Repeated sips add on just a touch of banana, but definitely in the form of bananas foster. Although the nose gave hints from both types of barrels, the actual flavor profile tastes as if both of these barrels somehow canceled each other out. In the end, this is a simple rum, but it still has some uniqueness and, more importantly, tastes pretty good. It has no legs compared to the slew of 10+ year aged rums out there, and if I had any of those on my shelf, I would definitely not choose to drink this neat over any of the more developed choices, or even just a navy strength variant of similar age. However, since my piss-poor state seems to not have heard of rum outside of Captain Morgan, this stands as one of the best options considering the stats on it. Still, if you have a desire for a sweet rum that doesn't dry out the mouth or give an immediate headache, this is quite the affordable option without dipping into "cheap" territory on cost or flavor.