Just got a bottle of Kirk & Sweeney Gran Reserva Superior for my birthday. Sourced from Ron Bermudez, this is a Dominican solera (up to 23 years) with, afaict, a lot of added sugar. This is a dessert rum, in my opinion, with a sweet caramelly profile very similar to Zaya, but with a more complex finish.

Quite yummy for a fortified rum, but just doesn't taste authentic.

Next destination is Trinidad. It is probably from Angostura (who, as far as I'm aware, are also behind Zaya).

6. Rum Nation Trinidad 5 years, 46%

Aged 5 years in ex-bourbon and Spanish oloroso sherry casks (Rum Nation love a good wine finish).

Nose has some caramel, some vanilla, a bit of fruit, a touch of sherry. It's also got a mild sharpness to it, but it is pretty light. Nothing breathtaking about it but it does smell good.

Dry, kind of floral in the mouth. Sweet, but not sickly sugar sweet, some spice and warmth on the aftertaste which lingers a bit.

Not a bad rum at all, it brings a lot more to the table than its Panamanian and Guatemalan cousins, though it costs about the same. 7.5/10.



More cheap, 50% agricole blanc, this time from Guadeloupe.

7. Rum Nation Guadeloupe Agricole Blanc, 50%

I suspect it's unaged.

Fairly similar to the Madeira nose, but with slightly less brine, more "green", earthy notes.

Rather sweet in the mouth, packs a good punch and some spiciness. Vegetal notes, grass, typical agricole but it's less subdued by the alcohol than in the Madeira one. This is better to drink-straight, and I'm definitely enjoying it, though it's still probably mostly a mixer.

At €33, this is quite the bargain. 8.5/10.

That Trinidad ex bourbon and ex Sherry cask seems interesting. Usually not a barrel finished guy with rum but I’d try that.

I bought this for $28 or so. 8 year Haitian from the Barbancourt distillery but also founded by a Barbancourt and the CEO is a Barbancourt. 43% always better than the bare minimum 40%, age stated rhum not rum. A little more vegetal than Barbancourt but not like a rhum agricole from Martinique etc.

Based on the color and the sweetness I’m a bit concerned they tampered with it. Probably not but who knows how well regulated Haitian rhum is. Anyone familiar with Zanj? I like the cognac bottle and label.



Put it next to 60%, 9 year bourbon for color comparisons.

So you like Knobber, huh? Mr. Nit.

Don't we all?

Yeah the single barrel 120 proof 9 year+ pairs well with a cigar. They use to sell barrels that stored would select from several samples that where often 14-15 year old barrels. 15 year whiskey, -20 proof and $45 not a bad deal.

Back to Panama.

8. Rum Nation Panama 18 years Decanter, 40%

Light, pleasant nose, lots of honey, fruit and some more unidentifiable notes. Very nice, but again something that is largely indistinguishable from many other Spanish rums.

Extremely soft in the mouth, sweet but not overpowering. Fruit, wood, a bit of chocolate, some orange. Lingers a bit, brings some spices, particularly vanilla, very pleasant.

This is a very unchallenging rum, but they've certainly made a pleasant rum that anybody could drink. I appreciate that it isn't overly sweetened, it has added sugar, but nothing excessive. It's a €65 rum, which is pretty pricey for a rather one-dimensional rum, and I'd personally not buy this over a number of similarly priced rums, for example the Guyana cask strength, but this isn't half bad for what it is. Definitely one of the best sweet Spanish rums I've had in a while. 8/10.

I'm almost looking forward to the 21 year Panama rum that yet awaits. Almost.




And back to Madeira as well.

9. Rum Nation Ilha de Madeira, 42%

Aged 3 years in ex-bourbon casks.

Classical agricole notes, vegetal, floral, but some darker notes, too, some wood. Great nose.

A bit of sweetness in the mouth, quite soft, more vegetal and flowers, dried fruit with some spice and dryness for the aftertaste which lingers a while.

A very nice glass of agricole, at €40 it's also in the relatively low end of price, agricole tend to be more expensive than other rum in my experience. Undoubtedly something I would not have liked 2 years ago, but times change, because I find this to be great. 8/10

I've been unexpectedly busy the past few days, so I've fallen behind once again.

Today I'm having two different drinks, one is an interesting rum and the other is an "interesting" "rum".

I start with the one in quotation marks. This is "interesting" because it's something as unusual as a spiced rum - except it's not actually a rum, hence the additional quotation marks, it is a rum-based spirit. I believe it is due to it having more sugar in it than what is allowed if you want to call something rum in Europe (the limit is 20g/L).

10. Rum Nation Meticho Citrus Spirit Drink, 40%

Allegedly up to 21 years old, from Central America.

I was expecting a note of citrus, but it is overwhelmingly citric. Orange and lemon en masse, sweet and vanilla. Not gonna lie, I find this a little bit nauseating, it doesn't smell natural or organic. It's not bad per se, it's just not what I want from a rum.

In the mouth it's bad, I'm really not a fan of this. Strong citrus, sugar and honey, it is the very definition of sickly sweet. I doubt I can finish this, it tastes nothing like rum. Synthetic, overly sweet lemon soda. I find it ghastly.

I have heard of this bottle before, because I chipped in to buy a bottle of this for a friend of mine not too long ago. I didn't help pick out the bottle, but I feel a strong urge to call my friend and apologize profusely. This is one of the most unpleasant drinks I've had, and the only upside is that this abomination will not stain rum's good name. 2/10.

There's no doubt a market for synthetic and sickly sweet stuff like this, but it's far from what I like in a drink.



Onwards to a more promising prospect, Madeira once again.

11. Rum Nation Engenho Novo 2009-2018, 52%

Aged 9 years in ex-Madeira wine casks.

A very nice nose, sherry, dried fruit, honey, little bit of hay and wood.

A nice kick and tingling in the mouth, more pronounced agricole notes, a lot of wood and wine, a good bit of sweetness (I believe it has added sugar, even though adding sugar is a strict no-no for real agricole), a little bit of rubber that makes me think of Jamaica. Rather dry. There's a lot to unpack, it is very delightful. The aftertaste lingers for a while and brings some spice and warmth.

It's on the sweet side, at least for an agricole, but it doesn't ruin it, it's just unusual with that sugar sweetness. It's a €110 rum, so it's up there (price-wise) with some of the more expensive agricoles I've had. There are others I like better at that price, but it is still some very good stuff. 8/10.

No. 11 seems right up my alley when grabbing a rum. A little pricey though.

It's definitely a great bottle, but yeah it's quite pricey. If I was buying an agricole in that price range, I'd also consider one of those I had in the agricole rum tasting earlier this year.


Speaking of gems, I expect one of today's rums to be one. It certainly has the price of a gemstone.

But first an appetizer. Not sure about which distillery this is from originally, but somewhere on Barbados.

13. Rum Nation Barbados 8 year old, 40%

Very pleasant nose, coconut, honey, dried fruit, tropical fruit.

In the mouth it is very smooth. Similar profile to the nose, with some spice, vanilla. A nice warmth, too. Lingers nicely, brings some oak.

This is one of the cheaper "basic" rums in this calendar, as it's 40% and €40, and for what it is, it is very nice 8/10.



Now it's time for one of the heavyweights. Once more the journey goes to Jamaica, the Hampden distillery this time.

Very excited for this, I remember being blown away by the nose on the Hampden 8 year, so I'm expecting big things.

12. Rum Nation Hampden 1998-2016, 18 years, 66.3%

18 year old pot still rum. Can't find specific info on casks, probably the usual.

As soon as I unscrew the lid the aroma is in my nostrils. Thick, pungent, super powerful. Very strong, the ABV is notable, but doesn't overpower the dense smell of tropical fruit. This is "HLCF" marked which I believe means 5-600 esters, which is fairly high, but still a long way from the 15-1600 of "DOK" marked Jamaica rums. A wonderful nose that I could spend a long time with.

Straight it is, unsurprisingly, very strong in the mouth, gives a good prickling. The fruitiness is off the charts. It's quite spicy, too. Dry. The aftertaste is super fruity and lingers for what feels like forever.

In what is a first, I tried adding a tiny bit of water to this, which I believe is recommended for many rums at this ABV. It can definitely take it, it's now softer and the taste is clearer. Definitely think adding a bit of water was the right choice, it's more drinkable now. It's not impossible to drink at full strength, but it kicks you in the teeth (in a good way), but with water it's a more "normal" sipping experience.

This is a wonderful rum. I would love to have more of this to experiment with it and find the sweet spot for adding water where it is at its best. It has so much to offer. I wonder how many bottles of this I could buy if I sold a kidney on the black market. It is very expensive, though. It costs €220 a bottle, so this is considerably pricier than any other of the rums from the calendar so far. This rum is full of bang, but it is a lot of buck. 8.5/10.

Jamaica rum is just so much fun to drink - and several still remain in the calendar.

More Spanish rum on the menu, this time from Peru.

15. Rum Nation Peruano 8 years, 42%

Sweet nose, quite round. Very pleasant and somewhat subdued, an elegant nose. Very nice.

Classic Spanish notes in the mouth, pretty smooth. Not particularly interesting but not a bad drink. Aftertaste is not worth a lot of words.

Not much to say, I could say more or less the same thing as I've said about a number of these at this point. Not bad but not very interesting, either. 7/10


Onwards to something more promising, yet again the ride goes to Jamaica, and again it is Worthy Park. I'm curious of how similar this is to Worthy Park's own Rum-Bar overproof.

14. Rum Nation Jamaica White Pot Still, 57%

Unaged I think.

Wonderfully fruity nose, lots of banana. Distinctly Jamaican. Some sweetness and a bit of sharpness from the alcohol, but it's not very pronounced.

In the mouth it's prickling but not overpowering levels of alcohol, a bit sweet. A very nice taste, similar to the Rum-Bar and also Wray and Nephew, although the banana is stronger in the Wray. Aftertaste isn't too spectacular but it leaves a lasting impression of fruitiness.

A very good rum. This is a €33 rum, it's high value for money. It's made for cocktails no doubt, but it works straight, too. 8/10.

Guyana rum is on the table. A great rum country with a distinct taste profile.

17. Rum Nation Demerara Solera No. 14, 40%

Unknown age, but ex-bourbon casks, with oloroso and Pedro-Ximenez sherry cask finish.

Molassey nose, vanilla, some dried fruit. There's some depth to this. Very nice.

Distinct demerara notes, this thick, syrupy, impression that is typical for Demerara rum is distinct. Makes me think of a greasy dock. Gives associations to Pusser's Gunpowder proof. Aftertaste reveals more Demerara notes, pepper.

It's €40 and not exactly groundbreaking, but it is very nice. 8/10.



The journey goes to another country with distinct rum, Jamaica, once again. I believe this is another rum that was originally from Worthy Park.


16. Rum Nation Jamaica 7 Year cask strength, 61.2%

Pot still rum aged 7 years in ex-bouron casks.

Lots of caramel on the nose. Quite sharp. Not as fruity as I expected, but still slightly fruity. Lots of brown sugar. Some oak, too.

It hits hard in the mouth, but isn't overpowering. A "dense" rum, sugar, oak, it makes up for the high ABV. Some spice too, pepper again. Very dry. Aftertaste lingers for a while, brings some heat.

Could probably add some water to this without hurting it, but it's also perfectly fine to drink straight, and makes a wonderful strong dram. It's €60 for a bottle, which is not too much for a rum with so much to offer. 8.5/10.

This and the Guyana cask strength are just wonderful.

A new destination, specifically the island Réunion. A French island located in the Indian Ocean, about 550 km east of Madagascar.
Specifically the rum comes from the Savanna distillery, which I've had the pleasure of trying once in the past. I read somewhere that Savanna is the only distillery in the world that produce rum from both sugar cane juice and molasses. The "Traditionnel" in the name means this is made from molasses, I believe.

18. Rum Nation Savanna Traditionnel 2004 2021 Whisky Cask Finish, 55.2%

A name that just rolls off the tongue.

Aged 12 years in a tropical climate in, I assume, ex-bourbon casks. Another 5 years in Europe in ex-whiskey casks.

Nice intensity on the nose. Oak, caramel, some spice. Very nicely balanced.

Very nice in the mouth, it's smooth but strong. Some sweetness but not too much, oaky and some dried fruit. Some leather. It's quite dry. A bit of spice, some warmth. Aftertaste lingers for a while and is pleasant, reveals more impressions.


A very interesting rum, definitely something out of the ordinary. The high ABV is by no means too much, it works wonderfully. A €120 bottle so pretty expensive, but a great rum all the same. 8.5/10.

Jamaica once again, an unknown distillery this time.

19. Rum Nation Jamaica 2007 2021 Peated Cask Finish, 57.7%

10 years tropical aging in ex-bourbon casks, then 4 years in casks that previously had smoky whiskey. This is quite interesting as smoky rums are somewhat unusual. I've had some quite smoky rums from Chairman's Reserve in the past, but other than those it's rather uncommon.

Honey, fruit, typical Jamaica notes, but also something more, almost alien. It's very classical Jamaican in some ways and totally different in another. It's like there's these two distinct presences in the nose. Great nose.

The whiskey cask is very clear in the mouth, the first mouth feel is distinctively whiskey. It has this dry whiskey impression st first, but also brings the sweetness and freshness of a funky Jamaican rum, the two impressions are merging in the mouth. It packs a good punch, but it's not too much, the taste is quite intense and lasting. The smokiness gets a bit more pronounced as it lingers in the mouth, the aftertaste is great, lasts and evolves.

Definitely one of the most unique rums I've tried, it is more whiskeyish than many other "finish" rums, which I like. Sometimes I find the "finish" in a rum is hardly notable, but this is distinct. This is a rum to try if you like whiskey - assuming you have €120 to spend on a single bottle. I'm not at all well versed in the world of whiskey myself, but I find this to be brilliant. 9/10.

More sweet Spanish rum.

21. Rum Nation Guatemala XO, 40%

4 years in ex-bourbon casks, finish in Pedro Ximenez sherry casks.

Honey, floral nose, some sherry, typical Spanish in many ways, quite pleasant.

More typical Spanish notes in the mouth, some caramel. Quite smooth, not excessively sweet. Brings a bit of warmth on the finish.

Pleasant to drink, but for a €65 rum, that isn't particularly impressive. 7/10.


More cask strength rum, this time from reunion, allegedly distilled at Savannah again. It is molasses based.

20. Rum Nation Réunion 7 year cask strength, 60.5%

Aged 7 years tropically.

Very unusual nose, oak, spice and some undiscernable notes of something vegetal, but also brine and balsamic notes, which makes me think of agricole.

Extremely dry, some pepper, lots of oak. Very special rum, I find it delicious. The high ABV works really well and is by no means too much. Aftertaste lingers and brings warmth and spice.

This is another wonderful cask strength rum from Rum Nation. A very unique rum, it feels almost like an agricole and molasses based rum at the same time, and a great deal at €60. This is really one to try if you like complex and unusual rum. 9/10.

I’d really love to try some Jamaican peated barrel finished rum. What an interesting combination. To me it’s the two wild child’s of barrel aged spirits brought together.

The last one is also right up my alley.

Late merry Christmas, I hope it was a good one and that it included consuming copious amounts of delicacies, including, of course, rum. Having said that, rums being branded as "Christmas rums" on these parts are usually sickly sweet and synthetic and not at all very good. I had one that tasted as coconutty and synthetic as Malibu, which wasn't to my liking.

I didn't get any rum for Christmas, but I did get a nifty citrus presser which will probably make it easier to make daquiries once the weather gets warmer.


Final calendar rums:

One last trip to Jamaica, and this time it's a bottle I already own, also from Worthy Park originally.

22. Rum Nation Jamaica 5 year Oloroso Finish, 50%

Aged locally in I assume ex-bourbon, then 12-18 months in oloroso and Pedro Ximenez casks. Has a bit of added sugar, about 5g/liter.

Great nose, lots of fruit, sherry, some wood. Sharp and smooth at the same time.

Good kick at first in the mouth, some sweetness. Has some burnt rubber taste, and wine and oak, some burnt sugar, too. Aftertaste lingers a bit and brings warmth and is quite dry.

Just a really good rum. Quite interesting and at about €45, this is quite the bargain. 8.5/10.




23. Rum Nation Panama 21 Decanter, 40%

Aged 21 years in American oak casks.

Some oak on the nose, dry fruit, quite light, a touch of sherry.

Lots of sweetness and cask, some sherry, dried fruit, honey and more. Tastes good but does not last very long and aftertaste is also rather bland.

It tastes good, but this is a €95 rum, and I can find rums at a third of that price that are more interesting which I'd rather drink - even if the price had been the same. Again, this is not a bad rum, it's just very one-dimensional which is crazy at that cost. 7/10.

The last of the lot comes from Guyana.

24. Rum Nation Diamond Whiskey Cask Finish, 59%

Aged in ex-bourbon and ex-whiskey casks.

A wonderfully rich and complex nose, brown sugar, fruit, oak, a lot of spice and depth.

In the mouth the whiskey is the first thing to note, whiskey and an earthy impression. The whiskey finish is one again quite pronounced. A lot of spice, pepper, a lot of wood, some sweetness. It has this dense, dirty Guyana body, there's a lot of complexity and rowdiness to this rum. Coffee, tobacco, chocolate, thick and greasy. It evolves a lot and there's much to unpack. It's also rather dry, the aftertaste gets more oak-y and chocolate-y.

A wonderful rum. It costs about €110 so it ain't cheap, but this is rum when it is the most packed with flavor, thick and sweet and just an explosion of notes, a very strong bodied rum. 9/10.



That concludes this year's rum calendar. The quality of the rums was very high, the rums were a lot more interesting on average than the ones I've gotten the past 2 years. A great success. I eagerly await the next development in the science of rum Christmas calendars.

Decided to pull the trigger on the El Dorado 12 yr despite the uncertainty about the vanilla and how much that dominated the palate and I'm actually upset that it took me so long to get it as it definitely is well hidden if there is a vanilla taste at all to it. Best rum I've had so far.

It's a great rum for sure. The 15 is also brilliant, although I haven't tried the new version with less sugar (but I imagine it has only made it even better).



Picked up a couple of white rums recently. White rum sometimes get a bit of a bad rap. It may be thought to be bland compared to aged rum, but that's far from the truth, (good) white rum is untamed and wild.

Some of the funkiest rum out there is overproof white Jamaican rum, such as this Rum Fire White Overproof from Hampden (63%). I've tried a couple of Jamaican high proof rums and they tend to be great. This one is fairly pricey around here (€45) which is almost €15 more than its relatives from Worthy Park and Wray and Nephew, but my initial impression is that it's also better. The smell fills the room as soon as the cork comes out, very pungent and fruity.
The taste is less alcoholic but similarly powerful to the other Jamaican white rums, less banana but much other fruit, some burnt sugar. It's quite sweet for an unsweetened drink, which I don't mind at all when it's this natural sweetness and the ABV is so high. The first sip is rough but after a couple it's surprisingly drinkable straight, more than the other overproofs I'm familiar with. It's actually delicious, I could drink the whole bottle straight I think (tho I will definitely have to see how well it works in drinks).


The Paranubes Oaxaca (54%) is a very unusual rum. Hands down the most unique rum I've ever had, it's truly a strange experience. I've rated it itt before and I called it "weird" and "not pleasant", which didn't give much of an indication that I would pick up a bottle of the stuff. But this peculiar rum has been living rent free in my head since I first tried it, so I picked up a bottle so I could get to know it more intimately.

It is still a very strange experience. The nose is distinct tomato puree or even ketchup, metallic, brine, wet hay, stables, rotting fruit and vegetables but not in a bad way. Some of the impressions are also found in agricole rhum, but it's very different from any agricole I've had. It's a rum that you can spend a while with. When it gets a chance to breathe, it unleashes a lot more than the initial pretty sharp impression. Some sweetness, some more nuance. A really fun spirit, though not one that everyone would enjoy.

I'm hosting a rum tasting next week for some friends. I have 10-12 rums lined up for the tasting, and then hopefully afterwards they will help make a bit of room on my shelves by emptying some of the almost empty bottles (to make room for more rum, obviously).

I've also picked up three bottles that I'm excited about.

Veritas White Blended Rum (Probitas in the US) - 47% blend of Foursquare and Hampden rum. Two giants combine forces to create a brilliant rum, which can just be used for everything, including sipping neat. This was actually one of the first (good) rums I ever drank, I got it for Christmas before I began collecting rums. I remember it fondly even though it was a lot different than the Ron Millionario 10 which was my only reference point at the time. I didn't think about collecting rums at the time so when it was empty I threw the bottle out and didn't bother to note the name, which I later regretted because I really wanted to try it again. I could remember it had an ABV of late 40s and was a slightly yellowy tint. One day I came across this bottle when browsing rums and it occurred to me that this was it. I've had a couple of tastes over the past few days and it's great. The nose is beautifully Jamaican with a lot of banana and similarities to overproof Jamaican rum. It has some of the craziness of some of the higher ABV Hampdens, but is also fairly smooth when drunk. A nice, lasting heat, a dry Jamaican impression. I don't notice a lot of the Foursquare, but it does have roundedness and balance that Foursquare so master. As far as value for money and versatile rums go, this is top tier.

I've also picked up an(other) El Dorado 15. One my all time favorite rums and my go-to recommendation (along with the 12) to anyone wanting to get into rum that go a bit beyond the most basic sweet Spanish rums (I'm looking directly at stuff like Zacapa 23).
This is the new edition, however, with less sugar. This is a welcome change, as my dislike for sugary rums has gradually grown and I have at times found the old 15 a bit sweet - still a wonderful rum but a tad sugary.

I've had some of an old bottle left to compare, the tastes are different but probably mostly due to the old bottle being aired for too long (there's been about 10 cL in it for a year, and the bottle itself is 3ish years), so I'm focusing on the sugar, where I think there's a noticeable difference. The new one is also sweet, but not in the sugary way which "feels" sweet in the mouth. It tastes sweet, but without the feeling of having your mouth coated in sugary drink. An improvement on an already wonderful rum.
The new one is in a black packaging (as opposed to the off-yellow) and the label on the bottle also differs slightly, in that the red bits are gone, so that's how to know which is which, there's still quite a few old 15s out there afaict.


Finally, the most expensive bottle of rum i have ever bought, Rhum Clement 10 Years. Agricole has really won me over to the point where it might be my favorite type of rum (along with Jamaican). I've tried a few high end Clements, and some cheaper mixers and their VSOP and really liked them, and this is supposed to be a great one. Clement is also one of the most accessible brands of agricole I've experienced, it's quite cognacy, it doesn't have the same (overwhelming) grassiness of many others. It's certainly a good place to start if you want to try agricole.
I've tried it a bit and the nose is just amazing, pear, fresh fruit, it is very light and elegant. The taste is incredibly smooth and soft. It's very woody, with some grass and honey. It's also quite dry. My first impression was that it was a little bit underwhelming actually (the taste, the nose won me over immediately). I expected it to have a bit more of a "concentrated" taste due to the ABV, but upon trying it a few times over the past couple of days, it feels like it only gets better. In my experience some of the rums I grew to like a lot did not win me over immediately, but gradually I began to love them (Chairman's reserve finest, Doorly's 5, El Dorado 15 (where at first I found the 12 equally as good) comes to mind).

I'm trying to figure out a welcome drink for the rum tasting. I've thought of going Daiquiri or Ti Punch which are always brilliant, either with some agricole (white or Clement VSOP) or some overproof Jamaican rum or the Veritas, but preferably not anything overly complex. If anyone has a suggestion I am all ears!

I have to admit, I've never really understood the welcome cocktail concept. It seems like it would overwhelm the tastebuds and make the tasting itself less nuanced.

Here I thought the Advent calendar came early this year :-)

Glad to see our captain is back at the helm!

Jealous about the Rhum Clement 10 Years. I’m also curious about the new bottling of the 15 year El Dorado with less sugar. I’ve been meaning to try this since this was announced.

Yes please update the thread o captain about this.

To each their own, personally I like a drink or a beer (or both) to kick things off. I went with a Veritas daquiri.

The rum tasting was a success, I think I managed to convert some of them to the religion of the one true spirit. One of my friends said he was taking pictures of the ones he would consider buying himself and by the end he had taken a picture of all but two.

The El Dorado 15 and Clement 10 were probably the most popular ones, but also the Rum Nation Jamaica Oloroso, McCoy 12, Chairman's Reserve Legacy were big hits, but actually mostly everything was very well liked. The 20 Centenario was also liked, but not overly much (incidentally how I feel myself, I fear I may have primed them a little with my presentation of the rums and my ranting about Spanish rum lol).

There was only one that most very much didn't like which was the Paranubes, which I kinda expected. They thought it was still an interesting rum to try, which was the purpose, it really underlines the range of rum. It also has a cool story (it's basically made by one guy in Mexico and his family has been doing it for generations). Personally I love it, and my love for it grows every time I revisit it.
I poured a bit of it into a glass that I left out for an hour or so before we got to the Paranubes to compare the nose between the fresh out of bottle and that had a chance to breathe, and it's wild how big the difference is. It goes from extremely tomato-y to very sweet like fermented fruit.

I was actually a bit surprised by how much I liked some of these rums myself, it's been a while since I've revisited many of them so it was nice to be positively surprised. Rum (or indeed anything) always tastes better when you've had a few, so perhaps it shouldn't be much of a surprise.

The new El Dorado is better than the old in my opinion, it feels like there's more to it because it does not have the same layer of sugary sweetness about it. More of the other tastes come through and it feels deeper than its predecessor. It is definitely one to try if you like the old one (or just want something very delicious). Very Demerara-y, but not in a sugar sweet way.

This was the lineup. We began with the McCoy and then worked out way through.

Been a while since my last post but worry not, I have been drinking rum in the meantime (at least some of the time).

I've picked up a few bottles since last, Hampden LROK the Younger and two old familiar faces in the Pusser's Gunpowder Proof and Smith and Cross, which are two wonderful, powerful bottles at a reasonable price. I got them up mostly as mixers, and while Pusser's may sue me (as they allegedly have a habit of doing toward anyone making Painkillers and labeling them as such - if they're not using Pusser's), I must confess that I prefer S&C in a Painkiller.
The LROK is a nice, light and fruity Hampden rum. A bit "mild" at first (despite the 47% ABV) but it's growing on me.

I've encountered a first world pirate problem: when somebody gets me something as a gift, there's a high likelihood of it being a rum, as my incessant blathering about rum has led to my fondness of rum being common knowledge among friends and family. Unfortunately, if someone gets me a rum, there's a very high likelihood that they get me a bottle of sweet rum that I don't particularly like (if not outright despise).
Obviously, I appreciate the sentiment, but it does bother me just a bit to receive multiple bottles of fine (but sweet) rum as gifts that I don't want to drink anything of. I got a bottle of Ron Millionario 15 recently (along with other sweet rums, including Puntacana Esplendido which is like the epitome of sweet rum that does nothing else but taste like liquid toffee with a poor aftertaste), which used to be one of my favorite sweet rums, and I eagerly opened it to revisit it just to find it undrinkably sweet.

I need to spread the word that I'm into cognac instead...

... and I may take a step in that direction. Last year I crossed my fingers for an agricole Christmas calendar in the future. That didn't happen, however, there's a new version with a French theme. It includes cognac, armagnac, calvados and pinot de charentes (some kind of sweet wine I've never heard of). I know practically nothing about these drinks, except that I've liked the few cognacs I've tried. I've been meaning to delve into these French spirits but didn't know where to start so this calendar seems like a good way to gouge what the mainland Frenchies have been up to while places like Guadeloupe and Martinique have been making delicious agricole.

I'm a little disappointed in this year's rum calendar. Although it includes some interesting rums, I've already tried half of the rums included (a couple of which I have little desire to revisit). Additionally, 16 of the 24 are sweet Spanish style rums, which, as anyone reading this thread will know, is not something I'm a big fan of. There's plenty of pricey and good quality rums included just mostly very sweet ones.