LouisianaLonghorn
Ron Diplomático Reserva Exclusiva Rum
Aged Rum — Venezuela
Reviewed
September 6, 2020 (edited April 5, 2021)
Candy. This is candy, right?
No? It’s rum? Coulda fooled me.
So this tasty treat from the failed state of Venezuela comes across as more of a liqueur than a sipping spirit. It features an astonishingly shameless dosing of 40 g/L of sugar. It has a 94 rating and one of the highest community rum ratings on this platform. The producers are clearly targeting the American sweet tooth, and it seems to be sticking the landing. But not for me.
This noses more like a mocha latte than a rum. The sugar has masked any rummy notes that might be there. There’s some cola and brown sugar if you dig deeper. As you drink it...gah....it’s so syrupy. The sweetness masks most of the spirit, but it might also be sanding down the harsher notes. To its credit, the finish is nice and warming.
I’m glad I tried this from a 5 cl sampler before dropping $40 on a bottle. Hard pass for me. But don’t listen to me. I’m just a grumpy whisky drinker that doesn’t like extra junk in my dram. I get grumpy about moderate dosing, chill filtering, added color, etc. I like the spirit as is. If you have a sweet tooth, buy on sight, but if you’re a fan of sipping whisky, then go for something more like Doorly’s or Foursquare. Cheers.
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I agree @bigwhitemike - I'm OK with them making stuff like this, but I'd like some more clarity about what it will be like before buying it.
This has really grown on me as I've been able to detect more of the flavor under the sweetness, but initially it was just a blast of sugar. Not my favorite rum expression.
The sad thing is underneath the copious layers of sugar it really is a well constructed flavourful rum
Candy...yep. Super sweet...yep. There are some that cannot get past the blast oof smoke in an Islay,its all they taste. Im sure there are many that wont clear the thick rich sweetness of this rum. I have quite the tooth so I enjoy this but do concede its a one trick pony. I paid and see this for $33 all the time at specs
I really think the rum category could be set right by mandating anything with > xx g/L sugar (say 10-15) be officially labeled as a rum liqueur. It’d force producers to own up to their methods and intentions. Nothing wrong with it, just a very different product.
Yep, I couldn't agree more - you nailed it. It's not actually bad by any stretch of the imagination, but way closer to a liqueur than the sort of rum I prefer. If you drink it with that in mind, it's not half bad. Hmm, which is exactly the rating you gave it 😀
I picked up a 50ml of this. Like you, not wanting to plop down $40 until I try it.