Rum Review: Flor de Cana Seven (7) Year Rum

Subtle, soft and medium bodied rums originating in Guyana and that define the fourth major standard style. To our sweethearts and wives, may they never meet!
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How do you rate Flor de Cana Seven (7) Year Rum (5 is best)?

5
1
25%
4
2
50%
3
1
25%
2
0
No votes
1
0
No votes
 
Total votes: 4

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Capn Jimbo
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Rum Review: Flor de Cana Seven (7) Year Rum

Post by Capn Jimbo »

Flor de Cana Seven (7) Year Rum "Walk in the Woods"

At some point you're going to run across the Flor de Cana (flower of the cane) rums from Nicaragua - a group of well balanced and crafted rums that have found almost universal praise and respect. From the white and gold four year mixing rums to the 18 year and special edition 21 (which is NOT 21 years old). But take heart - the 7 and 12 are mighty fine and very well priced for the rest of us. With that, the reviews...

Sue Sea:
Flor de Cana 7 year comes in a nice classic squared off bottle; topped by an impressive black, mahogany and gold label. Pretty. I loved the aroma of this rum - a hint of deep citrus orange topped with just a wisp of floral (magnolia?). There's oak and what I can only describe as a grassy, outdoorsy, woodsy effect. Complex and beautiful. Seven has a medium-light body. It has a crisp edge, not a heavy rum, very consistent with the aroma with cherrywood and oak carried through. I found the finish long, lightly peppery - which I like - warm and wonderful. This is a very consistent rum, well balanced.
Me:

Flor de Cana has always had a place on my shelves - a great company. Now as for the 7 Year: A lustrous clear amber in color, accompanied by good honest legs. As always I tend to pick up some of the heavier aromatic tones - the deep fruit or apricot, and a peppery licorice leather. These carried through the taste, where I also found vanilla, oak and the aforesaid leather. The late palate is slightly astringent. Like Sue Sea I found the finish long,lightly peppery and warm as we both appreciate.

Our further reflection Sue Sea found nutmeg, pecan, tobacco and perhaps a bit of Chardonnay (but you'll need a good imagination on these). All in all Flor de Cana 7 Year is a surprisingly complex, consistent and well-balanced rum, well worth it's very modest price (I recall finding it for about $19). Hard to beat.

Rating (10 is best): 7.


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For more and up-to-date reviews of this rum, plus a smackdown with the Four and Twelve Year click here.
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John Willy
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Post by John Willy »

I have not read above review. Probably pointless for me anyhow.

I cracked a bottle the other night. I'll keep my comments brief and general.
Warmth at front of mouth and at throat when swallowing...pleasant. Mild enjoyable sweetness. If I sucked in my cheeks I had that enjoyable spice sensation throughout my mouth like after eating a peppermint. I think my nose and taste profile are likely useless. I just can't make a connect with something familiar. Certainly nothing subtle. It was an easy imbibe.

Regards,
John
If you're happy and don't know you're happy, then nobody is home.....
sleepy
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Post by sleepy »

I'm very fond of this rum - not a masterwork, but well crafted.

Simple evidence - upon reviewing cost and availability from ATL distributors, this is the rum that I persuaded my local pub to carry as its one "true" rum. As more people taste it, more buy it. Works out well for all. :)

It's nothing special, just a solid sipper that will stand up to a bit if ice for those who insist!

At the same price, I'd prefer either Seale's 10yo or, for less, Doorly's XO, but a corrupt and illegal deal results in Total Wine's 2 liquor licensed stores being the only vendors who can get those products (pour establishments cannot buy from retails stores in GA, only from distributors. Seale's exclusive distributor in GA sells their entire allotment to Total <waving fickle finger of fate!>)

Dammit, apologies for the tirade, but...
Blade Rummer
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Post by Blade Rummer »

My experience with Flor de Cana 7 is remarkably different than that of most (all?) reviews I've read. I had bought a bottle after reading all the praise and it's seeing it's low (well, for Canada anyway) price.

In terms of aroma, I could only describe it as a Sharpie marker. Yes, it smelled just like a Sharpie and that was confirmed by friend (who ended up leaving with the bottle, since he routinely mixes drinks and I mostly enjoy spirits neat.)

The taste wasn't much better, it's been awhile and I'm not great with taste descriptors, but I remember the aroma carrying over to the palate somewhat (unfortunately) and the finish was harsher than I would've liked. The one thing I appreciated was that it was not overly sweet (although it could of been masked by that off flavor).

Did I get a bad bottle? Does such a thing even exist for spirits? The entire experience kept me away from anything Flor de Cana ever since.
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Capn Jimbo
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Post by Capn Jimbo »

Blade a good question...


...and I think you'll get more than one response. Here's mine. The first factor is what rums you've been drinking already. If you have been drinking any of the altered, sugar added rums, a pure rum takes a bit of getting used to. But trust me, you will and you will come to prefer a real and pure rum.

The second is quite common. A newly opened bottle can give that impression. Sue Sea and I have long stated that we found it impossible to fairly taste any rum until it's "down to the shoulders" (of the bottle). At the opening, the new bottle needs "open" time to air out and release these off flavors. By the time you've poured enough shots to get down to the shoulders (not hard for Sue Sea and I, as we require at least 2 shots each to fully review a rum), it will be a very different rum.

Third is time in the glass. F. Paul Pacult has a VERY structured technique. He pours a shot immediate does a few gentle "sniffs", then let's the spirit set for about 3 minutes, then takes another couple deeper inhalations, then again at 5 minutes.

His actual tasting is likewise precise. He starts with a very small initial sip, keeps it at the front of his tongue and compares the aroma to the initial taste for general harmony and consistency (they should match). In another minute, a large sip and hold in the mouth for about 1/4 to 1/2 minute (don't just swallow it) exposing the whole tongue. He may repeat this for up to 10 minutes, depending on how complex the spirit is.

I could go on, but he takes 20 to 30 minutes to evaluate the spirit, but you get the idea. I don't know if this will help you out, but it's not very likely (but surely possible) that you have a bad bottle.

Let's start with this - what rums do you drink and enjoy?
Blade Rummer
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Post by Blade Rummer »

Capn Jimbo wrote: If you have been drinking any of the altered, sugar added rums, a pure rum takes a bit of getting used to. But trust me, you will and you will come to prefer a real and pure rum.
I think most people do indeed start with the more altered rums, although in my case I was never a fan of the Zacupa o' sugar and Mr Postage Stamp rums. When I first got into rum about 2 years ago, I loved ED 12 but even now I find it too sweet and consequently prefer the 5/8 year old. I think my tastes run less to the sweet side than most. At the time I was trying the FdC 7, my other rums were the ED12 and the Appleton 12 (which remains my favorite) so I don't think it was a problem of not enjoying less-altered rums. It was mostly the off-putting Sharpie smell that was the issue.
Capn Jimbo wrote:A newly opened bottle can give that impression. Sue Sea and I have long stated that we found it impossible to fairly taste any rum until it's "down to the shoulders" (of the bottle). At the opening, the new bottle needs "open" time to air out and release these off flavors. By the time you've poured enough shots to get down to the shoulders (not hard for Sue Sea and I, as we require at least 2 shots each to fully review a rum), it will be a very different rum.
It's very possible, I have noticed this with some rums in the past, notably the El Dorado 5 year old. In fact, I kept my empty bottle so that I could transfer half of any new bottle in order to speed up the process, lol. It really became a different beast altogether once down to the label. I admit I could of been more patient with the FdC and kept the bottle.
Capn Jimbo wrote:Third is time in the glass. F. Paul Pacult has a VERY structured technique. He pours a shot immediate does a few gentle "sniffs", then let's the spirit set for about 3 minutes, then takes another couple deeper inhalations, then again at 5 minutes.

His actual tasting is likewise precise. He starts with a very small initial sip, keeps it at the front of his tongue and compares the aroma to the initial taste for general harmony and consistency (they should match). In another minute, a large sip and hold in the mouth for about 1/4 to 1/2 minute (don't just swallow it) exposing the whole tongue. He may repeat this for up to 10 minutes, depending on how complex the spirit is.

I could go on, but he takes 20 to 30 minutes to evaluate the spirit, but you get the idea.
Thank you for these tips, I still feel like I'm learning when it comes to approaching a spirit for the first time, I'm sure if I was to retry FdC today, I would be in a better position to evaluate it.
Capn Jimbo wrote: I don't know if this will help you out, but it's not very likely (but surely possible) that you have a bad bottle.
It does help and I appreciate your comments. I agree it's very unlikely that I had a bad bottle, however the aroma was really oft-putting and it was confirmed by another taster, if I was to redo it today, I would definitely give it more time to aerate in the bottle before going back to it. Especially given the poor selection of non-sugared up rums in my neck of the woods, it would be nice to have something else to alternate between Appleton and Barbancourt, although I'm not complaining about having to drink either of those two :D
mcbent
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Good one

Post by mcbent »

Flor de Cana was one of the first really good rums I ever bought, so it holds a special place in my tasting heart. It was so much better than anything else I'd had. I still buy it but now prefer El Dorado. With that said, it is a fine rum. A little tough on the nose when you first open the bottle but it gets better with a little air. Good straight or mixed.
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