Review #: 27
Description: XXX/Two
Spirit: Rum
Background: Here we have a special bottle and the first of the XXX series. This was picked by the Aficianados Discord group, bottled and sold by FineDrams. This was column distilled from molasses at Corporacion Alcoholes Del Caribe in Venezuela in April of 2005. It was aged in French Oak in Venezuela until June 2017 when it was transferred to England and aged in ex-Rum casks until it was bottled on the 28th of August, 2019. 251 total bottles with no chill-filtration, no additives, no coloring, and no bullshit. The stats are all there and for around $60, this seems like one of the best IB rums you could get, so let’s see if it lives up to it.
Distillery – Corporacion Alcoholes del Caribe, Venezuela
Bottler – FineDrams
Brand – XXX
Selection – Aficionados
ABV – 59.3%
Age – 14 Years
Nose – Caramel, molasses, honey. Sweet and rich
Taste – Butterscotch, caramel, cherry, grilled pineapple. Sweetness is well balanced with the barrel influence
Finish – Brown sugar, cinnamon and oak. The finish isn’t aggressive but lingers for a long while
Score: 8
Would I buy a bottle? Yes, and I did
Thoughts: Wow, what a treat this was. 14 years in barrels really gave it some amazing barrel influence, but so well balanced with the distillate. Syrupy and thick, but surprisingly restrained for the high ABV, this really represents an amazing value and the nexus of sweet and oak. It has since sold out, but I’m very happy to have a bottle for myself.