I tried Plantation Barbados rum (5 year) a few reviews ago, and people were saying how it’s a Barbados rum in name only. It’s sweetened and aged in France, and everyone says to get The Real McCoy, as it is a classic of the Bajan genre. So, right next to Pusser’s in that same FW&GS, I saw a The Real McCoy 5 year, and I bought it.

As a side note, but very much related, is the fact that I haven’t found a whiskey that I like. Just like we say that there’s a rum for everyone, I imagine that there’s a whiskey for me if I just try them all. But, so far, they all have a certain whiskey taste to them and a tannic oaky profile that I just don’t enjoy in a spirit.

Anyway, please read to the end of the review.

Review

Smell

It honestly just smells like bourbon. My uncle buys a lot of bourbon and Irish whiskey, and though I can try to list out the notes individually, like oak, something slightly herbal… overall, I would describe the complete bouquet composition as bourbon.

Taste

The immediate sense that I get is dry, harsh, and bitter. If someone told me that I am drinking a whiskey, I would believe them. I was ready to basically write the bottle off, and bring it to a friend’s place for a party, and leave it there.

I gave it the regular test in a daiquiri, and it was not ideal. It mostly shielded the harsh taste with the sweet and sour, but it was still rather bitter.

I tried it in a coke, and… it gives the coke a woody, complex flavor, and I can actually appreciate the character of it. But, I had to go way heavier on the coke than I normally do, about 4:1, so I was basically watering the rum down until I could barely taste it.

I’ll give credit where credit is due, a lot of times, when a rum is as bitter as this rum, it comes from an unpleasant industrial flavor, but this rum had none of that. It was quite bitter, but this rum had nothing industrial about it, it was all woody, dry, and smooth.

Verdict 4/10

I was really looking forward to this rum, based on how hyped Bajan rum is, but now, I am not looking forward to posting this review. Surely, I missed something. Maybe I just don’t get it. Maybe my palate hasn’t matured yet. Maybe I should keep my uneducated opinion to myself until I do. I give the rum a 4/10, because, while I can understand why others might think that this rum is excellent, it just doesn’t vibe with me.

But, this review didn’t sit right with me.

3 weeks passed. I wrote it, sat on it, and wrote up other reviews of rums that I tried later, while still holding onto this review.

Then, I had an epiphany. There was actually one time that I did enjoy a whiskey. My uncle bought a glass smoker for making smoked Old Fashioneds, and let me try one. I was going to turn it away, but the smoke looked super cool, so I accepted it… and it was actually good. This whiskey that I would normally not find enjoyable neat, was actually enjoyable with some angostura bitters, sugar, and letting the ice melt a bit. So, there was nothing to do, but do this review again— however, taking a different approach.

I redid the review entirely, from scratch, about 3 weeks after doing the first one, and hopefully it’s a relatively fresh review.

Review

Smell

Before, I said it smelled like bourbon… now I’d say it smells like woodshop. Like, freshly sawed oak. Not much of a difference, really.

Taste

I changed things up a bit. Last time, I said it was very dry and bitter, and so this time, I added 1 part simple syrup to 24 parts rum. I counted that it’s about equivalent to 40g/L of dosage. And, you know what? It’s way more palatable. The dryness and bitterness disappears in favor of a vanilla oaky taste akin to Angostura 7 and Havana Club 7. It’s not fruity at all, but it tastes full-bodied and complex.

Next, I made an Old Fashioned with this rum. It was actually very enjoyable. Some of the subtler notes started to shine through. I sensed some nice molasses and maybe a spice flavor like cinnamon, but overall it was still relatively subtle compared to the overall Spanish column still profile of this rum, but it really worked well with the increased sweetness and the addition of aromatic bitters.

Verdict 5.5/10

(Edited from 6/10 on 1/3/26)

I am really glad that I redid the review. Not that a 6/10 is fantastic, but I went from wanting to take this rum to a party and leaving it there, to actually thinking that maybe I can do something with it. In fact, I am sure that there is more that I can unlock with this rum, and I now more than ever feel like it is my inexperience and all-around noobishness with cocktails that’s holding me back from enjoying this rum. I’ll try to see if anything changes in the future, if I have any other epiphanies, and I look forward to my own eventual re-review of this rum.

January 3, 2026 Update:

I just tried it again. It’s just alright. I don’t dislike it, but I wouldn’t reach for it. I get that the pot portion isn’t exactly there to dominate, but to add subtle complexity in the background, but it just kind of tastes like Angostura 7 to me. Lots of barrel with little character.