On the eye, this is lighter than most 12 year old rums. The nose is predominantly vanilla, with the slightest hint of spice. On the palate, the vanilla is still predominant and the hint is spice intensifies a bit. There is a stronger alcohol burn that feels slightly hotter than 80 proof. All in all, this is a pleasant sipper, but it lacks the a Jamaican “funk”. They really need to improve their cork. It is hard to remove, and I ended up with bits of the paper seal in the bottle.