Review #: 486
Description: Diplomatico Reserva Exclusiva
Spirit: Rum
Background: This is a Venezuelan rum that pops up often for rum beginners and as a casual favorite. It is widely available, not crazy expensive, and a pretty attractive bottle and label. However, it’s a great example of some of the issues in the rum world. I’ve seen claims of 12 years old, but I don’t really believe that and there is no age statement, it’s loaded with added sugar, and probably coloring as well. I bought this early in my rum journey like many, so let’s look at it more critically now that I have a much deeper understanding of rum as well.
Distillery – Distilleries Unitas S.A.
Bottler – Distilleries Unitas S.A.
Brand – Diplomatico
Selection – N/A
ABV – 40%
Age – NAS
Nose – Ginger, molasses, cherry cough syrup, wet tobacco, burnt chocolate
Taste – Oh god, it’s so sweet. Takes like thin maple syrup, cherry soda, sugar daddy candy
Finish – Sweet caramel, some menthol, burnt oak, cough syrup, thankfully it’s quite short
Score: 3
Would I buy a bottle? No
Thoughts: I know sweet is a lot easier to market and sell to the general public, but man this is the rum equivalent of those wines that just taste like juice. It’s so sweet and not much nuance behind it. I like sugar as much as the next person, but there are issues when it comes to just dumping sugar in without disclosing it. That can be a real issue for someone who is diabetic or there are also drinkers out there (like myself) that try to watch what they consume. Unadulterated spirits are a bit more straight forward to calculate, but when you add sugar after the fact, it really muddies the waters. Hydrometer testing shows 40 g/l which is just crazy. Apparently, the brand was recently acquired and they have since dropped the amount of added sugar, so I might have to try a newer bottle to see if it really has changed.