Ron Metusalem Solera 23 Gran Reserva
I mentioned I tried it while it was cold. It's a completely different experience when it's at room temperature.
Firstly, the packaging is masterfully done. Glass shaped with a logo, engraved cork, too. It really is a classy packaging, definitely tops my previous #1 (Ron de Jeremy).
The smell is pretty much the same as when it's cold. Super delicious, rich and full of various dark notes. It's a very complete smell, it really has all you could ask for from a dark rum.
In a lot of rum, the sugar is what brings the taste, but sugar brings no smell. Because this isn't overly sugary, the smell is even stronger than some of the other great rums that are sugary.
The taste, compared to when it was cold, is so much more rich and powerful. It's such a rich taste that I barely notice the "lack" of sugar. It's still very sweet, but not in the sugar sweet way.
It's an entirely different experience now compared to when it was cold. It's much more complex, but also very round. It evolves in the mouth before it's even swallowed, it is one of the most varied and nuanced tastes I've tried, while it remains on the dark side. It has some slight similarities to the dos maderas/quorhom. Definitely one of the deepest tastes I've tried.
The aftertaste remains in the mouth like a rich, cocoa-like well-rounded sensation, that seems to linger almost indefinitely, while some other, less defined notes also appear, which gives it depth. There's various dark rum notes.
This is a *really* good rum. I normally prefer rums that are just a little bit sweeter so that it also has the sugary feeling, but this is definitely something I like a lot. It offers so much, it's like it downplays the sugar to give everything else a bigger part in the tasting and smelling experience and it works really well. It is one of my absolute favourite rums on the nose, if not my #1 - it is so powerful. Overall I rate it at 8.5/10.
The reason this doesn't score even higher is that the price, relative for my budget, towards the steep side. It is 20% pricier than the El Dorado 15 and maderas 5+5, and the same as the Quorhum 30*. It really is exceptionally delicious, and if you find sugary rums are a little too sweet for your taste, this could genuinely be a 10/10 for you.
I would definitely recommend it to anyone who are interested in rum.
*I got it at a discount like I mentioned, but I'm going by retail price for rating purpose.
The picture in the glass is Dos Maderas 5+5. I forgot to get a picture while I was drinking the Metusalem.