Black Gate Rum

* Tasted at a Sydney liquor shop tasting. 21 Feb 18. Distilled March 2014 and dumped from cask BG017 in May 2016. Nose: Golden syrup, sawdust, burnt sugar. A little hint of vanilla. Palate: Sweet and syrupy with some baked banana and dates. In the development it turns dry with cacao and slight cinnamon spice, and then the burnt sugar returns. Finish: Short. Drying, but not astringent, with some molasses. I'd really like to give this a positive review to support this fledgling mum & dad distillery, but in all honesty I thought it was pretty average. There are good points about it - it's smooth and very drinkable - there's no burn from the 50% abv and most of the profile is agreeable. I've certainly tasted far worse domestic rums and it's miles ahead of the unfortunately iconic Bundaberg and Beenleigh you find in every pub and bottle shop in Australia. However on the down side the golden syrup note is so central to the palate it becomes monotonous, and most unfortunate is a very *very* strong aroma and flavour of burnt sugar. Not caramel or toffee or molasses, but actual burnt white sugar - as if the mash had caught in a still that was run too hot. Several of the other participants at the tasting I spoke to had the same impression, BUT several others really liked it and voted it their favourite rum of the night. From me, however, it only scores as an adequate rum, particularly as it is comparatively quite expensive, and I agree with the official rating here. I would nevertheless be interested in following the distillery's progress and tasting future expressions, as I think there is the promise of a really nice aged rum from Black Gate. "Adequate" : 72/100 (2 stars)