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| Photo copyright © H.Kristoffersen |
Sweet and average. But an obvious stop on your rum journey.
Finally! A chance to sit down with a bottle of rum, and do a
bit of writing. Time is a highly scarse ressource at the moment, so the last
couple of months has been limited to must-do things and a little rum drinking.
A while back I looked at the Rum Nation Barbados 2001 10
year old.
A pretty decent drink in the lower price range, like many of
the other entry level bottlings from Rum Nation.
A shorter while back I reviewed the Rum Nation Paname 10
year old, which was alright, but disappointed me a bit. At the same time it was
born into a segment with massive competition, which is had trouble beating.
This resulted in an email from Mr. Rossi where he claimed that
the newest Bajan would probably be more up my alley.
Therefore I will now be zooming in on the Rum Nation
Barbados 2015 10 year old. The newest iteration of the RN Bajan entry level.
Full disclosure: The bottle was supplied to my by Mr. Rossi
him self free of charge.
Sadly I haven’t got much information about it yet.
In fact, I only know that it was born i 2005 on Barbados,
that it spent 10 years maturing, and that the last 12 month was spent in old PX
casks.
I am awaiting more info from Mr. Rossi, but being the busy
man he is, I have chosen to get this review out there despite the meager
background information.
An update will be issued if I get my hands on more
information about the origins.
What I do have, is a lab report, which mentions 16,7 grams of
extract pr. litre, of which 15,6 grams is sugar.
Presentation
Very much in line with recent Rum Nation offerings, you get
a nice little phatty of a bottle with a natural cork with a wooden stopper.
The bottle has a thick bottom which adds a nice amount of
weigth to it.
Although I liked to old taller bottles more, the newer squat
bottles has a thing about them as well.
Label wise we are treated with the same layout as usual.
A colonial stamp on the top, which is acutally the same as
the one found on the 2001 11 year old – but gold coloured instead of silver.
At the mid and lower section, we have the usual trivial
brand and naming details.
On the back there isn’t much useful information. Just a
little background story.
In the glass it comes off as bleached copper colour, and it leaves
a nice visible layer of liquid on the inside when gentle twirled.
Nose
Evne though it comes off as light profile, it presents it
self as very thick and fragrant from the beginning.
Slightly buttery, but the most dominating is gentle fruits.
Lots of ripe oranges with a side dish of bananas and coconut.
But just below is a layer of vanilla and some fresh mint.
There isn’t much wood to be found anywhere.
Quite typical Bajan, but also quite simple at the same time.
Taste
The thickness from the nose follows through to the palate.
It is not just buttery but also a little sugary sticky.
As it enters the initial heat brings along caramel, coconut
and vanilla.
And quite a lot of it.
Unfortunately the fruits suffer a bit a doesn’t come through
as much.
The bananas and oranges are there, but they are hiding way
in the back.
It is quite sweet and the sugary taste make it all feel just a bit little flat.
Finish
Pretty short on the exit.
It heats up a bit at first, but then it fades fast.
The sweetness stays on through out, along with a lot
tingling spice. Not much, just a dash.
Rating and final
thoughts
Not bad, but not very exciting either.
It is a nice casual drink, which doesn’t do much harm or
inspire much greatness.
But remembering the segment in which it is placed, that is
perfectly okay.
We are dealing with a entry level product for the masses,
and that is what Rum Nation aimed to create. And that has been achieved. Not
the full frontal pure blood type that spawns from Bajan power house Foursquare,
but a slightly sugared alternative for the less purist palates.
Value for money is fairly good. Priced at slightly less than
€40, it may very well provide a great way to more on from the latin sugar
bombs, when the schedule of your rum journey allows it.
You do have a million different rums to choose from in this
price range, but if you are looking for your very first bajan rum, and your previous
experiences are limited to highly sweetened stuff, this is a very good bet.
Reaching the end, it gets what it deserves. A nice and
slightly above average…
Rating: 74/100
Links
www.rumnation.com
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