Plantation O.F.T.D. Overproof Rum

It smells mild with a sweet toffee and banana presence but the palate is mainly harsh, tart, and bitter. It really buns and it's quite difficult to suss out any deeper flavors at this proof. The alcohol is warming but doesn't bring in that nice sweetness that high proofs usually have. It's frankly a massive challenge to drink. With water added, it becomes less painful, but still seems predominantly alcoholic. With further water added, the drink comes under control, but it doesn't have a ton of flavor. It's largely bitter and tannic. It's really quite a challenge to drink. It's super drying and excessively spicy but there are some hints of tropical fruits and banana in here along with some astringent flavor that may be raspberries. The fireworks are super present too. Vanilla is there but gets shouted down by everything else. It isn't sweet at all. This seems like a good mixer for a boozy drink but otherwise I'd say it's more of an interesting experience than a worthwhile drink. At least there are none of those gross bread flavors or anything. When it's ridiculously diluted, some nicer flavors start to come out. It's still dry and I appreciate that, but the spice dies down a bit and some more banana and molasses flavors come out. The richness with water added is actually really good. Since adding water is always an option, I feel fine bumping this drink up some points. Like, 6 points. The nose isnt as full of smoke as I expected. It does smell like alcohol, though not 69%. There's quite a bit of fruit on the nose.and some smoke and a bit of spice do come out. There's actually quite a lot of fruit presence. The palate is shockingly smooth at first, though some burn does cut in and cost the tongue in a sort of wet wipes vibe. There's a ton of tasty tropical fruit though. It isn't quite as viscous as Smith And Cross and it doesn't have the same complexity or richness. Still, there is plenty of flavor. I would like some more in the fireworks department though. The balance is better here. There's a bit of an Everclear presence, but nothing out of control. The sweet tropical fruits - including banana, papaya, mango, and a numbing orange zest presence - are quite nice and keep this drink from sinking under the alcohol. I think I prefer Smith And Cross a tad for its funkiness, but this is quite good in terms of general dark rum characteristics. Definitely a strong mixer. The finish has an increased amount of wood and Everclear, with a hint of beef jerky. It's a decent sipper overall. Man, I'd really like to have a bottle of this and a bottle of Smith And Cross. Of the two though, I'd definitely rather sip the Smith And Cross. This has too much alcohol for sipping. Water does tame it though. There are the same flavors, but the fruit is a bit sweeter and lasts longer. That bitter Everclear note does unfortunately last even with water added (though maybe my palate is a wreck after Smith And Cross and this). That keeps this from moving up an extra point. It's quite good, especially for the price. Still. There's that bit of Everclear aftertaste that I don't like. I personally prefer Smith And Cross. Others may disagree. This is very good though and is indeed sippable.

Bottle-kill review: starting neat in a Glencairn…we’ll see how I finish. On ice? On the floor? In the doghouse? I honestly enjoy the backstory and label. Contrived or otherwise, Gabriel inviting these cocktail/rum gurus to help him develop a new blend (or accidentally doing so on a purely social call) feels very genuine and these are people with a passion for their industry and (most notably) a sense of humor, even when money is on the line, which I respect greatly. Surely colored (as is typical for a dark rum), however the deep brown hue is enticing and makes some bold promises to your tastebuds… but promises are fulfilled, as this stuff is 100% the chief underwriter at the loan office. Nothing new to report here, but your nostrils get slapped with molasses, pineapple rind, rosewater and fusel notes before the ethanol twinge builds, obscuring other scents, and eventually pushes you out of the nosing after 3-5 seconds. Traditional oak vanillas and butterscotch get absorbed seamlessly by the tropical fruit, flowers, and hogo. Really nice and noses nowhere near 138 proof. Palate leads with classic high-ester Jamaican – a sweet wallop of ripe tropical fruit, then the Guyanan molasses washes over, then whoooa! The proof builds quickly and singes the sides of the tongue. Again, 3-5 seconds, tops. Extremely concentrated and sweet. Molasses and oak are driving the bus, but the funky fruit and petrol fumes are blaring over the loudspeakers. Unsurprisingly, the finish lingers forever, tingling the cheeks and tongue with oaky tannins and saccharides and allspice berries drawing saliva and celebrating holidays and hosting a beach-side bonfire all at the same time. This is not a perfect rum. Brought down to everyday proof, it would show a number of warts. But honestly at $25-$30/L this is nearly faultless, and a standout example of what rum is all about. I have used this liter in half-ounce floats and split-rum bases working through the tiki pantheon and it never fails to deliver loads of flavor and unmatchable value. This is not a replacement for 151-proof demerara rum, simply a great bottle that stands on its own merits. Highly recommended. (price adjusted for 750ml basis)

Okay, so I never thought I'd own something like this, until I read up on it more and found that Bacardi 151 ruined navy and overproof rum for anyone that has known of it. It helps that it's highly rated on Distiller, and even though I did not want a liter of this, the price was right and it was the only size available, but I still think I can have fun with this if the taste is right. The color is that of a 8-10 year aged rum, combined with just a bit of blood, because the red hue is starting to look like the front of the bottle label. The ethanol is potent, but I can still access the scent, which is caramelized sugar, wet earth, and some hogo remnants. Banana and even some bread notes are also present as well. Not surprisingly, the initial taste is simply heat. After a few sips of acclimation, fairly heavy flavors of oak come into play. This lasts longer than I expected, to the point where I thought that this would be it, but then the proof finally hits, and washes over the mouth and throat in a furious burn. If you can still focus on the taste, then you'll receive notes of caramelized sugar, unripe banana, and, most surprisingly, a pretty powerful punch of cherry. Other than hot, the finish ends with the cherry note. Okay, so definitely no regrets here. This is absolute and full proof that barrel strength or simply higher proof rums have access to a much wider flavor profile than any of the watered down stuff. Sure, this would be welcome in giant punch bowls or cliché tiki head cups, but I can also easily see some standard cocktails getting a huge (albeit boozy) boost from this.

Nose - molasses, honey, apple, sweet floral notes, earthy mint, clove, pineapple, cinnamon toast, vanilla, butterscotch, burnt brown sugar, orange, moderate to high ethanol burn. Taste - sweet molasses, cola, honey, ginger, black pepper, spearmint, cardamom, clove, banana, chocolate, pineapple, dry oak, brown sugar, burnt toast, vanilla, orange zest, powdered sugar, sweet floral notes, moderate to high alcohol alcohol bite, finishing medium long with molasses, honey, baking spice, dry oak, and mint flavors. This is my first of six Plantation offerings I’ll be reviewing in the coming days. I figured I’d start with this one, as I unintentionally strung together a few overproof rums. Compared to the Lemon Hart yesterday, this tastes downright docile at 138 proof. The nose is much lighter than Lemon Hart’s. Molasses, honey, and minty, floral aromas present on the nose. The palate is similarly fresher and sweeter. There’s more honey, cola-like molasses, and earthy mint flavors. This is certainly more sippable than Lemon Hart, but I wouldn’t call it a sipper. It tastes more like a better, overproof version of Bacardi 8 Year, with the strong floral and honey notes. And I think I like the darker, richer profile of the Lemon Hart better; I just wish it wasn’t quite as hot. Each of the four overproofs I tried are solid and will likely have a permanent place on my shelf. However, they don’t drink neat particularly well and my ratings reflect that. This came closer to reaching a 3.5 than the others, but I can’t quite get there.

Performed a three-way side-by-side with Lemonhart 151 (current release), Hamilton 151, and Plantation OFTD last night, sipped neat from a Glencairn. Bottom line, you can't go wrong with any of the three. On the nose, OFTD started with traditional Demerara aromas, but less than the other two. Lemonhart was an immediate espresso and flan bomb. Coming back to the OFTD after a while brought out Vietnamese coffee, full of light roast, milk, sugar, condensed milk. Hamilton was more just Demerara and brown sugar and deep caramel but no coffee. I could have nosed all of these all night. Tastewise, Lemonhart carried such delicious, rich, creamy, dark, sweet, notes with premium espresso underneath. Hamilton was less intense, focusing more on burnt dark sugar, caramel, some dark fruit, and oozing molasses. OFTD is similar to the Hamilton but fruitier with a touch of coffee and some barrel bitterness that sets it apart. Not that it matters, but I liked Lemonhart 151 the most

This rum is one of the cheapest bottles in my cabinet, yet it contends with some of the most expensive bottles. The aroma immediately hits me with pretzels (more accurately, charred paper and saline, but I assume less can relate to that), with molasses, banana, mandarine orange, and cinnamon undertones. The taste immediately hits with banana, molasses, mandarin, vanilla, pretzel, pineapple, and allspice. It then develops into a molassesy caramel creamed coffee that keeps the banana, mandarin, and toast undertones. It then has a long finish of molasses, cloves, orange peel, banana, caramel, cinnamon, chocolate, and coffee. When the chart says it is rich, it truly does mean it. The complexity is absurd for how much I have paid for the several bottles I have purchased. The mouthfeel is also incredibly oily like I would expect from an expensive fully pot still spirit. I can not state it enough how well this would do in a blind tasting against top shelf spirits.