Okay, none of these rums are from Spain, but the countries they originate from all speak Spanish. I previously mentioned I like alliteration, and ‘Slick, Syrupy Rums” just felt too crass.
As I was looking for more information on the now defunct Diplomatico Reserva, I found some info on from someone named ‘Mistahunter’ who had posted on the Ministry of Rum site in 2010 that he thought it was better than Zacapa and in the same thread, Chip Dykstra, the Rum Howler, said it was in his top five best rums of all time; that’s good enough for me, I suppose.
By the way, in case you were wondering what I was doing way back at that time, it was only a year before that I had started university and tried Appleton Signature for the first time; it was a terrible experience, straight from the ‘mickey’ (375ml bottle), with no chase except the ego boost from my assumption that I was cool now (I wasn’t, just drunk). It was probably the first rum I had tried outside of Bacardi, Captain Morgan, or El Dorado and it would be a long while before I touched much else in the category.
Anyways, I think it’s important to look at these rums from yesteryear, the ones most of the rum geek community have moved on from, if at least to place it in context with what we love today and see if they can still hold their own against a (slightly) more experienced palate.
Diplomatico Reserva – (2-8 y.o. 40%)
Venezuelan law requires a minimum of two years of age to be called a rum; as this has been ‘aged up to eight years’, we can expect the blend to be somewhere between 2-8 years of age.
Apparently this one is meant to be drier and lower-priced than the Reserva Exclusiva and is meant more for mixing. I believe it has been replaced by the Mantuano, which is currently sweetened to 10g/L. My measurements on this older edition showed approximately 15g/L of additives; let’s see if it’s aged well.
Quite chocolatey on the nose, it reminds me a little of the Guyanese column still rum from last week; this makes sense, as there is plenty of column influence here as well as aging in a similar climate. Vanilla, dry pencil shavings as well as green wood, some hard macadamia and brazil nuts. Considering this bottle has been open for quite a while I will not discount it for having a nose lacking complexity, however, there is still a surprising amount of ethanol; this is definitely meant for mixing.
On the palate it’s like a few raisins that have been soaked in rum and is definitely sweeter than I was expecting, probably not good for my keto diet.. There is a distinctive roughness that’s a sign of a poorly distilled spirit, though I can certainly see that as a valuable attribute in a mixed drink or cocktail. The sweetness sort of floats above the harshness as a barrier, like a ball of cotton wrapped around a cactus leaf.
If I was few drinks in, the sweetness here would make it go down easy, but that’s not really a point of pride; please note, as much as I don’t care for post-distillation sweetening, I’m not really critiquing the practice so much as its execution. It reminds me a bit of a Flor De Cana 7 with a bit of sweetener.
A decent mixer, but I would not recommend serving neat; at least, not at the start of the evening.
(64pt)
Ron Zacapa Centenario – Sistema Solera 23 – (6-23 y.o., 40%)
I won’t look too closely at this solera system, I prefer to not see the Emperor naked than hazard a look at whether he is actually wearing clothes or not.
I measured this one at 17g/L of additives, so we should be in a similar area as the last one. They use some sweet, sweet wet sherry barrels here, rather than add sweetener.
The nose reminds me of a sherried scotch (I’ll take a double of some high proof Glenfarclas after this tasting, please and thanks); what I meant by that is that we have both oxidative wine notes as well as sweet aromas of dried fruits, such as dates, figs, prunes, raisins, as well as honey, vanilla, a bit of green wood, molasses, some grapefruit, and none of that pesky ethanol. Say what you will about Zacapa, at least they take their distillation seriously, though my nose is sticky now from touching the sweet edge of the glass; ah well, we can’t win them all. Some light nuttiness as well, just a few hazelnuts and cocoa.
The palate explodes with PX sherry sweetness, these must have been some very wet casks! If you like a Glendronach sherry bomb, this is the rum for you! Unfortunately, this light column distillate doesn’t have the same heft of a Scottish pot still (already three references to Scotch on a rum site!? With many of the commonly found rums expressing these attributes, maybe now you can understand why so many whiskey drinkers have been hesitant to expand into cane distillates).
It’s distinctly grapey, and anyone with any sense will tell you this is certainly not the flavour of their blessed ‘sugar cane honey’, but rather the effects of some lovely sherry casks. Interestingly, despite the clear quality of distillation from the nose, there is quite a bit of heat on the palate. I suppose it’s perhaps to contrast the sweetness of the liquid, but it just feels over-engineered to me; I’ve had spirits with 1.5 times the alcoholic strength with similar heat, so it’s definitely something done on purpose
Although we do have a lot of great attributes here and I really could drink this all day, this is so far removed from the cane syrup from which it was made, it really is more of a wannabe sherry-bomb Scotch than a rum. It takes the sweetness of the casks, the roughness of the youth, with very little, if any, of the heavier aged attributes I would expect from a solera.
(72pt)
Dictador 20 – (20 y.o., 40%)
I will say, I am enjoying the minimalist bottle label versus the last two, although the box it came in looks like it’s selling me a fragrance ‘pour homme’ and immediately renders the point moot.
This one is apparently fully aged twenty years as well, no solera or blending besides barrels of the same age (or older). Okay, you have my attention. Apparently there is some rumour about Dictador not really having a distillery and being misleading about sourcing their rum. I’m not so knowledgeable about all that, you’ll have to lean on other reviewers for more info.
On the nose, tobacco and cocoa, earthy coffee beans, vanilla, a touch of caramel. Very nice; not bad, but certainly nothing new, nor with much complexity, which is disappointing when price is considered (almost double of Zacapa and three times more than the Diplomatico).
On the palate, wow! This one is sweeter than the 6g/L of additives would suggest (added essences can be quite potent!). I hate to say this, but it really tastes like a chocolate turtle; I don’t know if this is only a North American thing, look it up. Essentially, milk chocolate, caramel, and walnuts. It’s nice, but honestly, uncomfortably cloying. It really only needs some ice and bitters to make an Old Fashioned.
It’s got character, but is incredibly unbalanced towards the sweet end of things, stifling any complexity with a heavy blanket of caramel flavour. It tries so hard to appeal, but it ends up being the worst of the bunch, certainly one of the worst spirits I’ve had in a while.
(54pt)
Well, we learned today that I like Zacapa (surprise!) but that I would rather just have a heavily sherried scotch instead (not surprised). I’m looking forward to using the Diplomatico in some cocktails; I’ll post some drinks on my Instagram as well as the Canadian Rum Society. This Dictador though…..it just goes to show, price, age, and appearance have nothing to do with quality. Despite the outcome, I quite enjoyed the exercise in returning to some of these mainstream rums that are less popular with the connoisseurs. I’ll definitely be doing another one of these soon! I would also like to mention that despite the fact that I don’t like these, many people do; it’s certainly not my place to tell people what to drink, especially not knowing their palate, budget, or access, but I hope that if your palate aligns with mine, you will with agree my assessment.
Thanks (I think) to Matt for ‘donating’ some of his dusty old rums to me; hopefully someone will learn from our experiences.