Bacardí Gran Reserva Diez 10 Year

Rating: 16/23 I was surprised by how good the Bacardi 8 was, so having a chance to sample this, I leapt at it. N: Vanilla, caramel, fireworks. A bit of tangerine and some mild sweet spices. Not the most complex nose, but a good one. P: Sweet, smooth, mellow. There's some nice musty flavor that gives this a sense of age and I get a little funk that reminds me of Plantation Trinidad a bit. Vanilla, some slightly woody cinnamon, something a bit prickly, and a nice dose of tropical fruit (melon, banana, light pineapple, and just a brushing of orange). Not really any of that firework flavor I expected. Maybe just a tad. It's a bit sweeter than I'd like but not overwhelming and I suspect that's the reason for a lot of the fullness here considering the low proof. Which bring some to the proof. This tastes a bit weak, unfortunately. F: Really nice. Tropical fruits dance with vanilla and light caramel. - Conclusion - Super easy drinking. Great as an intro or just an easy evening. This would be awesome bottled at 46-50%. Still, I like it a lot as it is. It's just I want to rate it higher but it's lacking that fullness of flavor. It has solid complexity and very nice balance. I'm vaguely considering a 17, but I think that this is more in the 15 to 16 range. There's a great - maybe fantastic - rum at the core of this, but it's been watered down way too much. I do taste that complexity and depth though. I'll give it a 16.

On the nose immediate hits of caramel, vanilla, brown sugar, pineapple, orange peel, and some spicey notes of black and white pepper as well as light anise. Very lovely nose. The mouth swirl immediately releases the vanilla, caramel, and sugars onto the tongue and releases tropical fruit notes of pineapple, and mango. The spicey notes hit the throat gently. Notes hitting the nasal passage dissipated quickly. Lingering notes of caramel and vanilla remain on the tongue for a few minutes, but all other notes disappear quick. Overall scoring - Nose 3.5/5; Taste 2.75/5; Overall 3.25/5 Repurchase: Yes Type: Friday Night Pour

Bacardi Gran Reserva Diez 10 has an odd gold appearance, because it has little sparkles, not unlike glitter, in the bottle and glass, when held under strong light. The alcohol legs are similar to fancy plantation gingerbread woodwork. The aroma is of intense, light brown sugar, some oak, vanilla, and nectar. The flavor is of those elements, as well, with a noticeable alcohol presence, on the backside of the sip. Mouthfeel is medium to heavy, with a syrupy note, beginning to develop. The finish is moderate to long. This should appeal to those with a sweet tooth. RJT

Floral, oak - a considerable step from the 8. Eucalyptus, pineapple, tropical fruits. It really doesn't change a lot upon breathing (I think the older rums do). This is about the highest quality I would use for mixing and not with citrus, more rum Manhattan or something.

Of the 3 rums I've tried in my rum journey so far, LMAO, this was too chemical-ly sweet tasting but it wasn't off-putting. Just the least fave of my flight of 3 (against Appleton Estate 12yr & Mt. Gay XO)

Nose has strong clove and liquorice notes. Flavour comes rushing in on the tongue with heavy vanilla, banana and brown sugar. Finish is long and has sort of a peppermint note. Amazing stuff!