Kirk and Sweeney 12 year Dominican

Are these real rums? Is a chocolate flavored Bistec de Palomilla a steak? Maybe. Some are of lower proof. Some use real flavoring. And as for some, may we never drink worse than this!
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Hassouni
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Kirk and Sweeney 12 year Dominican

Post by Hassouni »

Rubbish.

No aroma, sugar on the mouth and endless surely-artificial vanilla.

Avoid!
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Capn Jimbo
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Post by Capn Jimbo »

Question...


Based on what you know about styles, which would this one be (although with your findings, it may not much matter)?
Hassouni
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Post by Hassouni »

"Cuban" but that's a huge stretch. I'd leave it here, since it tastes like fake-ass vanilla birthday cake
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Post by The Black Tot »

That settles that! Thanks, Hassouni. This bottle had been upsetting me.
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Capn Jimbo
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Post by Capn Jimbo »

If I may be so bold...


...it just occurred to me that Ron Matusalem is also a Dominican rum. For the newer posters, RM used to be a reference rum for the Cuban style, but later it was discovered that they admitted altering it with prune and vanilla extract.

It appears this rum is similarly facked with, and sourced from Bermudez in the DR. Perhaps in the DR such alteration is typical? We'll see.
Hassouni
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Post by Hassouni »

I mean, isn't the case with Matusalem that even in Cuba it had been flavored?
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Capn Jimbo
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Post by Capn Jimbo »

Hassouni wrote:I mean, isn't the case with Matusalem that even in Cuba it had been flavored?

That may well be, as in their lawsuit and the court of appeals finding, they claimed that the old man's family recipe had been violated (real prunes and real vanilla), which certainly implies that but without specifically saying so.

What's new was the change to extracts and our knowledge of that fact via the findings of the Court.
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Where's the beef?

Post by dawsonh »

Image

I picked up this bottle on my first visit to Total Wines ($34), several moons ago. It was an impulse buy. I was taken in by the beautiful bottle, interesting back story regarding the Kirk and Sweeney schooner, their gorgeous website http://35maplestreet.com/spirits/kirk-and-sweeney-rum/... in other words great marketing! The company, 35 Maple Street, is located in Sonoma California. It was started by 4th generation siblings of the Sebastiani family (who sold out the wine business in 2008). 35 Maple Street offers a variety of spirits which are purchased from other distillers and bottled/packaged/marketed/sold though their company... all beautifully done.

However when it came to the tasting, Kirk and Sweeney the spirit was a big let down for me. I have tasted it a half a dozen times, alone, with friends (young and old) and reaction is always the same. Chemical vanilla on the nose and on the tongue. Sweet, fruity, sugary, citrus, a little spice, more vanilla and then... meh! I cannot understand where the 12 years of American oak went. This spirit was a big disappointment... my first one so far.

A pop-up on the webpage is revealing:

"where’s that sweetness come from?
Being a traditional Caribbean rum, Kirk and Sweeney is made with sugar cane, which along with some other trade secrets, yields a distinct and subtle sweet, vanilla oak taste."

K&S BS

Thanks goodness you guys/gals have steered me towards some wonderful rum.

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Post by mamajuana »

Kirk and Sweeney have approved labels by TTB for a Dominican 18 year and 23 year rum which will be released shortly.
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Changes in new batches?

Post by mamajuana »

Looks like the one picture is from batch #1. I also have a batch #1 in the collection. I also recently just bought a batch #15 to see the progression as we know batches have a tendency to vary greatly. The thing to consider is that the base rum is Bermudez stock from the DR (Bermudez has its distillery in Santiago de los Caballeros) which is the location on the bottle. The base 12 year has already tested no added sugar. The batch one tested at nearly nothing also from a member here.

The batch #15 (bottle 18505) I found incredibly dry with a full body with some oak but spice dominating. Nosing was dominated by spice mainly cinnamon and clove with underlying very light tones of vanilla. Easily Cuban in style but showing its Dominican Flare. The finish sticks around for a few moments where it does have some lingering fading light sweetness and very slight vanilla. I was really trying to coax out the fake vanilla but could not find it. I tested it next to a bottle admitting fake vanilla (New Orleans) and just could not agree at least on this batch that its a concern.

Either the batches have changed or I am just not detecting anything too out the ordinary here. I don't really find this rum that is so dry and shows a good amount of vigor to be additive laced. That said I'm not really sure overall I find much different in taste from the 12 year 1852 Bermudez Product. Not to say a bad product just a normal 12 year column distilled rum, that were stacked for storage, which will not produce the oak flavor of a pot still rum with a proper cut, and proper barrel monitoring, aged even just 2 years even in the USA. Much lighter in overall flavors but still has some vigor to it.

That said if you like this rum just get the 1852 Bermudez Anniversario, its nearly identical in profile to the batch #15! The 1852 is scarce these days compared the K&S which seems to be all over my area even in small volume stores. So if you have a concern that K&S may have additive issues you can get the confirmed Bermudez Anniversario 0G bottle for lower cost if you can find one. It is also hard if not impossible to pour from the K&S without losing even just a few drops of rum each time.

If I had to put a 10 rating on this I would say 6.5/10. The extra .5 because a 6 would not be fair neither a 7. Spend the few "extra" dollars on Appleton 12 for a rum in this age range which will be true enjoyment this one has too many flaws. Maybe the 18 and 23 year K&S will offer some relief?
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