Perhaps I should have relegated these to the "Drinking Tonight" or "Acquisitions" thread. But I found having tequila tasting notes--at least mine-- broken out separately, to be useful, so I thought I would open a separate thread. If the Mods disagree, they, of course, have my blessing to consolidate this post within one of the existing Speakeasy threads.
We spent the week over-lapping the last part of December and the beginning of January in Puerto Rico. We drank a fair amount of rum there, but did not visit any distilleries or focus much on trying to taste various things. I guess I am not a huge rum afficionado, and I think I would have said that I tended toward high hogo rums made in places like Jamacia, Barbados, and, I guess, Trinidad, and the French island rhum agricoles, mostly served in tiki-type and similar cocktails. I suppose DR rums, too, although my recollection of them is more limited. My familiarity with Cuban rums is limited, and I have not been that impressed. They seem similar to what I had had heretofore from PR, which had been mostly Bacardi, as I recall. and had not impressed me either. I do really like Ron Abuelo, in various expressions, which is Panamanian, as I recall. Interesting distilled from both can juice and molasses musts or washes or whatever the liquid distilled is called, if I recall. What is it called? As I recall Ron Abuelo seems similar to the various Venezuelan rums, which I also like.
Anyway, I brought back these three and was impressed with each on different levels:
Don Q blanco--Very much like Bacardi, but seems better to me. Very clean. Maybe more complex and flavorful than Bacardi. What one might think a rum flavor would be. No off notes at all. Seems to be available readily enough near me for about $15 for 750 ml, which is less than Bacardi.
Don Q 2009--Distilled in 2009, aged in wood until bottled and released in 2019. Single barrel, as I recall. Really, really good. Very smooth. Very flavorful. Sippable, for sure. No hogo. Very accessible, yet very complex. The wood plays very nice here. Around $62 for 750 ml at the San Juan airport, as I recall. Comes across as a very refined and high end spirit.
Don del Barrilito 3 Star--Don Del Barrilito is a step up from Bacardi and Don Q basic spirits anyway. This one is less nuanced and perhaps less complex than the on Q 2009, but still quite refined. Very nice rum. Easily accessible.
We spent the week over-lapping the last part of December and the beginning of January in Puerto Rico. We drank a fair amount of rum there, but did not visit any distilleries or focus much on trying to taste various things. I guess I am not a huge rum afficionado, and I think I would have said that I tended toward high hogo rums made in places like Jamacia, Barbados, and, I guess, Trinidad, and the French island rhum agricoles, mostly served in tiki-type and similar cocktails. I suppose DR rums, too, although my recollection of them is more limited. My familiarity with Cuban rums is limited, and I have not been that impressed. They seem similar to what I had had heretofore from PR, which had been mostly Bacardi, as I recall. and had not impressed me either. I do really like Ron Abuelo, in various expressions, which is Panamanian, as I recall. Interesting distilled from both can juice and molasses musts or washes or whatever the liquid distilled is called, if I recall. What is it called? As I recall Ron Abuelo seems similar to the various Venezuelan rums, which I also like.
Anyway, I brought back these three and was impressed with each on different levels:
Don Q blanco--Very much like Bacardi, but seems better to me. Very clean. Maybe more complex and flavorful than Bacardi. What one might think a rum flavor would be. No off notes at all. Seems to be available readily enough near me for about $15 for 750 ml, which is less than Bacardi.
Don Q 2009--Distilled in 2009, aged in wood until bottled and released in 2019. Single barrel, as I recall. Really, really good. Very smooth. Very flavorful. Sippable, for sure. No hogo. Very accessible, yet very complex. The wood plays very nice here. Around $62 for 750 ml at the San Juan airport, as I recall. Comes across as a very refined and high end spirit.
Don del Barrilito 3 Star--Don Del Barrilito is a step up from Bacardi and Don Q basic spirits anyway. This one is less nuanced and perhaps less complex than the on Q 2009, but still quite refined. Very nice rum. Easily accessible.
