Rating: 13/23 N: I get some really nice syrupy PX sherry fruit on the nose mixed with rich dark rum. There's some charred wood in here, but the sweetness overwhelms it. I get a bit of molasses and peanuts. Tragically, it isn't a terribly complex nose though. P: So, this is one of those sugary sweet rums. I was worried that that might be the case, both because of the sherry and because it's rum without a specific origin, but I did have some hope because it is dark rum. The flavor isn't totally flat, but finding the complexity requires some real searching. I do get some nice charred wood that gives this a little bit of an oloroso leatheriness and some barrel spice (ginger, pepper, cinnamon, clove) that goes along fittingly, along with some sweet, juicy red fruit (that one month of sherry aging is really coming through). There is a hint of 50% dark chocolate, but not a ton. Maybe a little coffee too. There's some vanilla, but honestly this would be better without it because it lightens the body while making it sweeter. At one point, I actually get a weird hint of jalapeño. I get a lot of the sherry sweetness. There isn't any chalkiness to it or confectioner's sugar and it also doesn't taste more than a tad lacking in fullness, so that's good. It does kind of have that solera blandness that so often occurs. F: The peppery barrel spice lingers, helping to keep this from just tasting like a liqueur. It's still sweet and dark, but blandly so. I can appreciate the quality of the underlying rum in Diplomatico, but it's just too sweet for my general preference. Papa's Pilar Sherry is similarly overtaken by its sweetness, though I'm less convinced that there is a really good rum behind the sugar. Diplomatico has some more interesting complexity. It's already hard to taste the complexity in Diplomatico (because of the dosage), so the fact that it's easier to taste the complexity in that than in this is quite telling, especially since this is the less sweet of the two. It's possible that there is no dosage in here, but in that case the sherry is just overwhelming a bland rum. Side by side with Appleton Estate 12, although this is fuller, the Appleton Estate has a more genuine rum flavor with more complexity. I definitely prefer the Appleton. Plantation Xaymaca also strikes me as clearly better, though it has a totally different profile. This is perfectly drinkable, especially when viewed as more of a rum-heavy liqueur, but I can't say that I really like it a whole lot. It does seem like a good choice for drinking by the fire in the winter though. The most generous score that I could ever contemplate giving this is a 15, but that's a pretty fantastically high score. I can similarly imagine a 9, but I really think that this is in the 10 to 14 range and it probably isn't a 14 because the Appleton Estate 12 is better. It isn't bad, but it's quite disappointing after all of the really high scores. OK, so weird revelation here, but whereas this rum itself is kind of flat and underwhelming, it has a richness than makes it great in a rum variation on a boulevardier! Side by side with some standard bourbons, I really like the complexity and richness that this brings. I can't say that I like this on its own that much and I can't say that I think it's worth its price as a mixer, but I think that's where it's closest to delivering real value. And that's a problem because it certainly isn't pitched as a mixer. But it really feels like one. At $30 or less, I'd be giving this a thumbs up as a mixer. At $40, I'm struggling to justify this. That said, I am maybe considering bumping this up a little bit because it makes a great variation on a boulevardier. It doesn't hold up all that well in refreshing, citrusy drinks that need punchy dark rums, but it works well in more aromatic, herbal drinks that need a full, sweet base layer. So back to rating this. I really do appreciate the fullness and richness here, as well as the clear sherry presence, but the flavor is just so flat. It's sippable, but not particularly enjoyable. I really can't imagine putting it below an 11, but I don't see a 14 unless it gets pushed up for being a good mixer (in one specific cocktail). Right now, I'm looking at a 12 or 13, but leaning toward a 13. Since Appleton Estate 12 and Plantation Xaymaca both strike me as clearly better side by side and they both got 14s, I'll need to really love this boulevardier variant to give the this rum a 14. Even with the boulevardier taken into account, I'm leaning toward a 13. There's a hint of something good getting started at the back of this, but it's mostly bland. It's pretty unobjectionable and avoids tasting young, but it's still just not very engaging. Also, Appleton Estate 12 is great in a variant on a Boulevardier too (it's hard to pick a winner), so this is at best tied with Appleton Estate 12. I'll go with 13 for this tasting.