Yeah sure, we’ve all been to crazy room parties. Music blasting. One corner of the room overflowing in liquor, almost all of it bad. Hotel staff knocking on the door for another noise complaint. A furry snorting coke off a clown’s boner.

But what if there were a more upscale party? Let’s say, a meeting among Wall Street professionals on the rooftop of Nasdaq at Times Square, with fancy catering and an open bar? Well, I can tell you that you will get two things at that bar:

1. A bunch of fancy liquors, but the only rums that they offer are Bacardi Superior and Mount Gay Eclipse.

2. About 10 bartenders, and not one of them knows what a daiquiri is. No, seriously. I was ordering daiquiris all night, and every time, the bartender would say that they don’t have the ingredients to make one, and I would say that it’s 2 parts rum, 1 part lime, 1 part simple, they’d go “ohh yeah I can do that”.

Well, I decided to ask for a glass of Eclipse neat, and a daiquiri with Eclipse, and scooted off to a quiet corner to do a quick review.

Review

Smell

The nose is very neutral, I am mostly just getting ethanol fumes. Maybe if I really reach, there’s a slight sense of watermelon?

Taste

Slightly harsh, slightly bitter, with a mild flavor of pear and almonds. But, again, I am reaching. It reminds me of a young Spanish-style rum, because it’s very light on flavor, and it’s not very fruity or interesting. I also get a mild tinge of young oak flavor, kind of like you would get from bourbon, but overall it’s very mild, boozy, and slightly “rummy”.

In a daiquiri, it disappears. I get lime, sweetness, and booze, but nothing else being added by the rum.

Verdict 4.5/10

(Edited from 5/10 on 1/3/26)

I gave it the exact same score I gave Bacardi Superior, 5/10, because I might as well have gotten that. That’s not to say it’s bad— I actually think that Bacardi Superior is underrated. But it’s just a boring rum, with a few interesting aspects, but also a slight bitterness and a bit of harsh burn that cancels the compliments out. While I would still rather drink rum than any other liquor here, I wouldn’t buy Eclipse for myself. It does nothing that Havana Club 3 doesn’t do slightly better in the same price bracket.

January 3, 2026 Update:

Not much more to add, I am just amending the score down to a 4.5 to reflect my new scoring system.