Plantation Barbados 5 Year Rum

While looking for a mixing aged rum that wasn't color-removed (which is shocking how hard that is to find), this caught my eye with the amalgam of different features and methodology. 5 years is an alright age statement for a mixing rum, but I mostly liked the blend of distilling methods and cask choices. There's enough here to keep things interesting while just tasting it neat, even with it still being the classic low 80 proof. I also like the rear label and the shockingly stacked amount of information on it, including a whole review from Paul Pacult (with a "highest recommendation" remark but only 4 stars next to it, odd). There's a lot of potential here, but that can only get you so far. The color is really light (golden straw yellow) for spending time in 2 different barrels, but I'm willing to bet the cognac barrels were likely on their third or more fill, so that didn't quite help it. The word "amalgam" comes back to mind on the nose, with all kinds of competing notes: unripe coconut, mushroom, red berries, and brown sugar, all combined with the classic molasses and sugar cane. Everything is somehow balanced yet aggressively competitive, but the body is light enough to not push the scent too hard. The initial flavor is a bit of sweet sugar, but this quickly explodes into an even bigger sweetness from added notes of brown sugar. A molasses flavor develops after this, but only imparts a faint hint of sorghum to keep things away from the bitterness. This really is the only flavor development, and although the body is light enough that it gives that familiar watery taste, it also prevents too heavy of a sweetness from taking over the whole palate. Repeated sips add on just a touch of banana, but definitely in the form of bananas foster. Although the nose gave hints from both types of barrels, the actual flavor profile tastes as if both of these barrels somehow canceled each other out. In the end, this is a simple rum, but it still has some uniqueness and, more importantly, tastes pretty good. It has no legs compared to the slew of 10+ year aged rums out there, and if I had any of those on my shelf, I would definitely not choose to drink this neat over any of the more developed choices, or even just a navy strength variant of similar age. However, since my piss-poor state seems to not have heard of rum outside of Captain Morgan, this stands as one of the best options considering the stats on it. Still, if you have a desire for a sweet rum that doesn't dry out the mouth or give an immediate headache, this is quite the affordable option without dipping into "cheap" territory on cost or flavor.

Nose - light molasses, sweet floral notes, vanilla, orange, cinnamon, pineapple, banana, honey, coconut, grass, mint, mild to moderate ethanol burn. Taste - light molasses, orange pith, grass, honey, allspice, mint, pineapple, banana, sour apple, sweet floral notes, mild to moderate alcohol bite, finishing medium short with light molasses, bitter citrus, and grassy mint flavors. Another cheap Plantation offering, but is it better than the 3 Stars I reviewed yesterday? The nose certainly has more depth than its white rum relative. It’s less like an agricole and more like a prototypical rum. Molasses, tropical fruit, citrus, and honey. The palate is sweet, sour, and bitter with many of the same qualities as the nose. Overall this is a small step up from the 3 Stars as a sipper, but it’s no stud. It’s markedly less funky as well. The profile isn’t very different from the Bacardi 8 Year’s, and I enjoy it about the same. I haven’t devoted much time to finding drink matches for it, but may consider swapping this with 3 Stars if it holds up well to the standard cocktails I make at home.

Immediately upon the pour there is a nice fruity and intense aroma of overripe carmelized pineapple, with some banana, and cane sugar, butterscotch. At taste there is a bit more sweetness than expected from normally dry Barbados rums. The fruity notes persist with pineapple and raw cane sugar developing into a touch of salted caramel mid taste and finishing clean leaving behind the notes of cane sugar and pineapple. Excellent value for a everyday guiltless sipper but can stand up as a mixer at a very attractive pricepoint.

This is the first rum that I’ve tasted straight in ages. It has a very interesting meaty smell to it, which apparently is bacon fat according to the bottle. I’m having a hard time picking up scents in the tasting glass, but I might have overwhelmed my smelling senses. It has a nice, fairly light palette, though the tobacco definitely comes through nicely. I believe I pickup the honey midway through the tasting. I’ve rated it a 4 because I like it, but I’m also tasting it in a vacuum without anything to compare it with.

While I'm relatively new to sipping rums, this is the top of my list so far, vastly outperforming others of larger price and age. A fairly sweet rum all the way around, with caramel, toffee, vanilla and almost a subtle banana creme flavor in the back half. A very smooth texture without the overbearing alcohol/ethanol presence on the nose or palate makes for very easy drinking. For a fairly cheap aged rum, it's hard to go wrong. I could drink this rum a long time without growing tired of it

Plantation is making and blending great rums. Butterscotch and cane sugar all over the nose, with pinapple and tropical fruits underneath. Cane sugar, banana, pineapple, fruity and creamy vanilla in the mouth. Creme Burle is an apt tasting note description. Sweet alcohol burst through a compact finish. Medium body and mouthfeel. Translucent orange-rose in color. Overarching taste is sweet--too sweet? Maybe so, but...