Yet another bottle that leaves a man pining for half-star ratings on Distiller. I am not really a rum person; when I do like rums, it tends to be because of their similarity to whiskey. And in a lot of ways I'd frame Havana Club 7 as the rum equivalent of an entry-level single malt--a Glenlivet or Glenfiddich 12. Enjoyable, flavourful, but not really setting the world on fire. A lot of the appeal here is (for Americans, at least) the appeal of the forbidden, which tends to inflate opinions. But it's widely available in Canada, and that takes off a bit of the sheen. Closed nose at first, with some astringency. After time, brown sugar, molasses, huge tobacco leaf; dry and sweet herbal, leafy notes, some tropical fruit (pineapple, mango, papaya), raisins, prunes, and a bit of yeastiness. A lot of sponge candy as well. Taste is vanilla, caramel, brown sugar/molasses, with surprising density and creaminess for 40% ABV; wood smoke and tobacco, but the dark/dried fruits really dominate on the taste (plums, prunes, raisins). Bitter chocolate, and more of that honeycomb/sponge candy. Very dry, tobacco-y, smoky, which continues onto the finish. An acidity and yeastiness on the finish that's not ideal, but also the sensation of a just-smoked cigar and nice wood smoke (how much of this is psychosomatic?). A fabulous mixer and a solid--but not mind-blowing--sipper, the comparison to a lot of entry-level malts ultimately feels fair. And at $30 a bottle, quite a steal.