This light amber rum was both a surprise and a treat. There are more than a few who mention Cruzan ED and Single Barrel in the same breath, and a number of these, not least Ed Hamilton, prefer the Estate Diamond. With all the rums I own I was reluctant to buy yet another, but Diamond is not at all expensive. I wasn't expecting much when Sue Sea and I led off our tasting with this one. But first a bit of history.
Early St. Croix rums were relative to Jamaica, producing aromatic, heavier pot-stilled rums. Much later, and now the rums of St. Croix are more akin to Puerto Rico - lighter and less woody. Accordingly (and since Puerto Rican rums descend from Cuba, this entry appears here in the Cuban style section. The reviews:
Sue Sea:
Me:The aroma of Estate Diamon immediately struck me as that of eggnog with some nutmeg. Similar to a banana nut bread just out of the oven with a bit of melted butter. Yummy! Later on I picked up some light caramel and butterscotch aromas. Like all good rums, this one has balance and is beautifully consistent. It has a medium light body and the lasting taste reflects the aroma beautifully, picks up a bit of caramel drizzle. The finish is smooth and warm, not peppery - a beautiful, there's that word again, smooth and short. I find a good finish makes you want yet another taste, another dram. Estate Diamond has it.
Estate Diamond was a complete surprise to me. I wasn't expecting anything even close to this. Most of the rums in its lower price class are better mixers or simply don't have nearly as much going on. Now most of you know how much I revere Mount Gay Extra Old, my beloved classic reference standard. I must say that when I considered I could buy two ED's for the price of one MGXO I had to think.
Nope.
MGXO remains my goto classic standard. But Estate Diamond could easily become a great alternative sipper. Let's consider Cruzan's Estate Diamond a kinda MGXO Lite. It is.
Rating (out of 10): 7.