Cane Island Venezuela Single Estate 8 Year Rum

The nose is a bit hot, with aromas of caramel, brown sugar, and molasses. Poured straight there’s a quite noticeable burn so add a drop of water or an ice cube! This cuts the burn down a little and reveals brown sugar and molasses, with hints of bananas foster and vanilla. Still a little burn going down, even after it’s sat a while. Cane Island appears to be a Netherlands-based outfit whose specialty is single distillery or single island rums. This one is aged 8 years, at least partly in American white oak casks, and says it is wholly sourced from Venezuelan distillery, Destilería Sofa. It is a low priced rum ($29 where I got it at Total Wine) so don’t expect amazing, but it’s very tasty for a sub-$30 offering. If it burned less, I’d like this better than Diplomatico’s spiced rum. I definitely didn’t hate it, as you can tell from the mostly empty bottle. There are better rums out there, but they cost more if you buy them in the US.