What is it? Molasses based rum from the Dominican Republic. As far as I can tell this is column distilled and aged in ex-bourbon casks for up to and around 10 years, although there is no age statement and some sources state 6 years while others say 8. It’s likely this is made in batches which vary with age content from batch to batch with the intention of maintaining a uniform profile, I say this due to the lack of age statement and also I have a serial number of the back of my bottle which seems to relate to a batch.

Coloured, chill-filtered and bottled at a woeful 38% abv.

Sugar? Yes. From online sources it could be around the 27 g/l mark, I’d say this is consistent with the evidence I get from drinking it too.

Nose: Caramel, cinnamon, butterscotch, butter. Mushy banana, oak – actually there seems to be a fair amount of oak on the nose. Musty. I’ve noticed this is other DomRep rums too, almost a old and dry cork smell, earth, dried leaves and a little bit of mushroom. There is a handful of mixed nuts too. Quite rustic/outdoor smelling.

Palate: Medium mouth feel – certainly not from the abv or spirit, so it’s got friends helping out here. Sweet delivery. Yep. Dosed up. Big waft of toffee and caramel and then basically the same as the nose, which aint a bad thing. Some fruit, but dried/candied, a little honeyed banana and walnuts. That’s about it. Not really any oak to shout about.

Finish: This is where things fall apart. It’s short, maybe carries out to medium helped by the sugar. Not bad, just not very long. Then sugar does it’s thing and flattens it totally. Finishes the same as the palate but bitters off at the end with those walnuts.

Thoughts? Nose is good, palate is ok, finish is……meh. It’s pretty one dimensional , easy going and inoffensive, what’s not to like? Well, there’s nothing to challenge or dislike really, so it’s aimed at a wide market appeal. It’s ok. At £30 I don’t regret buying it but it’s not something I’ll be having again; just not really my style and all a bit to “flabby” if that makes sense. I can think of a dozen rums straight off the top of my head at around this price range that I’d rather have than this.