The black barrel one has been in charred bourbon barrels before being bottled, which should give contribute to the aroma. I think it's also just a higher quality rum than the eclipse, being made from older rum. Great value btw.
I've been drinking this one recently: R. L. Seale 10 years - Export Proof
Rum from Barbados (like Mount Gay), more specifically the renowned and widely known Foursquare Distillery, responsible for a long list of different rums, including the well known Doorly's.
This rum comes in 2 versions. There's a standard version and an Export Proof version. Taste, I gather, is close to the same, but the export proof has a little higher alcohol percentage (46% to 43%).
It is a Bajan-style rum, which is a type of unadulterated, light and sweet rum, made by blending column and pot stills, and often has a fruity flavour.
The rum comes in a beautiful, crooked, dark bottle. A very nice bottle, which gives off an impression of quality and attention to detail, for example the "stamp" on it (not sure what it's called in English) is not made from plastic like with many other bottles, but metal, which is an insignificant, but nice touch. In the glass it has a light, golden color.
It smells great. Powerful, sweet, caramely, spice and a much different fruit. A complex and very rich smell. A bit of wood, and just a plethora of beautifully balanced spices and fruity nuances I can't quite put my finger on, but which makes for an exceptional smell, one of the best I've experienced. I think it goes back to it being all "real" taste and notes, without its magic coming from added sugar, which doesn't do much for the smell.
In the mouth it is really powerful, like an explosion. It is dry, sweet, oaky, with a nice warmth and such a richness that the impression is ever changing and I am bombarded with many different notes, but it's enjoyable all along. Many fruity notes, along with many spices, it's difficult to discern, but it is really delicious. The aftertaste is warm, lingering and evolving, with a surprisingly powerful impression.
I'm blown away just by how powerful this stuff is. Sometimes rum is "just" pleasant and nice to drink, but this is more than that, it just commands my attention.
It's challenging, in a way, not as in difficult, but in that it wants to be explored and demands attention. It doesn't aspire to be just a well tasting and pleasurable liquor. I think this is a rum that will never get boring.
I tend to think that it's typically deep (often dark) rums which accomplish such nuance and variation, but this is pretty much the opposite as it is light and powerful. It is simple and complex at the same time, and it just works because it tastes so real.
The price is fairly low, at about €45 which isn't much for something so good. This is a rum I would recommend to anyone who wants to try a "raw", but refined, rum, not artificially sweetened, but sweet, incredibly complex, despite not having all sorts of things mixed added to it.
It is a great rum. 9/10
One thing I'll note is it might be more suited for people with some familiarity in rum/liquor, because it is strong and not the easiest rum to drink in the world. So if you're completely green in the world of liquor, this might not be your cup of tea.
On the other hand, if you've hated every rum you've ever tried and found them too sugary sweet or synthetic, this could be the holy grail, or at least one that shows you another, distinct path in the very diverse world of rum.