Capn Jimbo's Rum Project Forum

[Capn Jimbo]

Plantation Barbados Grande Reserve Rum: "Orange Candy Hots"

It's all about color.

Now if you're like us, rum tasting is a complete experience. For us that means preparing the environment, soft music, soft lighting, an attractive pitcher of cold water and glasses. The ceremony includes bringing out the bottle, perhaps holding and reading it. And then - finally - comes the first pour, a nice 3/4 ounce.

That when color comes in.

The first pour aroma, if any, begins to waft. Typically, we'll pick up the glass and hold it to the light, revel or not in its brilliance (or lack thereof), note the color and legs.

That's when the red, er orange flag went up.

Mind you we love the Plantation Barbados rums and have very favorably reviewed the 1993 and 1995 bottlings. Naturally, with a name like "Grande Reserve" we were expecting a special treat. But something about that color...

Color in rums are determined by two main factors: first, the barrel aging and second, the legal use of trace caramel to adjust it. Most rum is aged in first use oak bourbon barrels. These tend to impart a gold color, which slowly deepens in time to an amber, even deep mahogany. Sherry barrels may add just the slightest tinge of a red tone.

Caramel is permitted by law to be added in trace amount to correct color - sadly, this allowance is often exceeded to make rums into deep mahogany, sometimes even bordering on blackness. What you think of as a "dark rum" is not the result of aging but of extreme coloring via caramel and/or molasses. All quite illegal, of course.

After all it's rum, and "it's all good", nicht vahr?

With Plantation Barbados Grande Reserve Rum, something didn't seem right. This is actually a pretty young rum with an unexpected pretty dark color that has orange tones!? Honestly, I can't remember any of our other 100+ rums that present this way. Was something amiss? The reviews...

Sue Sea:

[tweiss69]

I have a bottle of the Grande Reserve sitting in the back of my liquor cabinet. It has been sitting there for about 10 months. This one has a black closure on it. It's predecessor lasted only about 6 months. It had a red closure.

I must say, the difference between the two was night and day. The red top was a fantastic rum, even for sipping. It was my second favorite, behind my Zacapa. The black top, I mix with a few of my other rums to make it palatable. Alone, it is cloyingly sweet. A great disappointment.

I was wondering if this was:
1- They just lack consistency and a steady supply of red closures
2- There were 2 different versions of the Grande Reserve
3- Something else utterly unimaginable

Has anyone else experienced anything like this?

Todd

[JaRiMi]

Tried the current version, and it upsetted me. Upsetted, because by added caramel and probably charcoal filtration (or something), almost all the lovely, unique character had been removed from this rum, making it very average, middle-of-the-road, and - massively disappointing. Sugars making it easy, it was not much to my liking due to lack of heritage (I'd be hard-pressed to identify this as a Bajan rum in blind-tasting) and character/flavours.

Easy-go-down product, "nice" - as we say, meaning its simple and acceptable. I did expect much more, in all honesty. Not bad, but..."nice".

[Mike.357]

the distributor I worked from previously sold it. As i recall it was great rum.

it did seem to change on every shipment.

Now they don't order it in. It sold very well. Now it is not available. TN liquor laws suck. No chance of getting it in east TN. If my old company does not want to import it, none of us can taste it.
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