Some online retailers and online reviews, for some reason, claim that this rum is actually from sugarcane syrup. This is bizarre that apparently a significant minority disagree that this is even a molasses-based rum, and the official website lists so few details about the rum manufacture, that it doesn’t even mention the base fermentable.

Lion Distributors, the liquor importer for Industria Licorera de Caldas, claims that it is molasses-based and aged in Colombian white oak barrels. However, GoToLiquorStore, a major online liquor marketplace, lists it both as being molasses-based and derived from sugar cane syrup, as well as stating that it is aged in ex-bourbon barrels, so there seem to be some real issues with the marketing language of this rum. Is it sugarcane syrup or molasses? Colombian white oak or ex-Bourbon American white oak?

It seems that, due to the heavy pollution during distillation, in 2013, the government of Colombia shut down the distillery. The official government website says that due to unresolved environmental concerns, ILC’s distillation plant will not be reopened. A tasting panel tasted tafias from several different sources, and purchased 6.8 million liters from the supplier that tasted the best. In 2017, with the concerns still unresolved, ILC restarted the distillery, but this time importing crude alcohol from Ingenio Risaralda, and redistilling that into drinking alcohol. La Patria reported that the plant manager stated that they have no intentions of restarting full distillation since they do not have permission to discharge the waste that they would produce, and it would cost $20 billion to install the necessary equipment.

Review

Smell

Very much a column still rum. It’s just got a generic rum smell, heavy with alcohol fumes. It pretty much smells like Bacardi. Forget about it smelling nice and fruity like Havana Club 3 or even bold and oaky like Ron Abuelo 7.

Taste

It tastes even less rummy than it smells. I am getting no flavor and only alcohol burn. In fact, I just poured myself some Bacardi gold that I still had lying around, and it burns about equally, but at least it has some actual rum flavor. Ron Viejo de Caldas 3 might as well be vodka. After sitting for a bit and writing this review, in my exhale, I get the faintest hint of rum flavor. That’s it.

Verdict 4/10

I just don’t have the time, liver cells, or daily calorie allowance to burn on this rum. It’s just not worth it. It’s not even a bad or controversial taste like some of the other sub-5 scoring rums, it’s just boring and barely has any rum flavor.

January 4, 2026 Update:

Even with the new rating scale, it’s still a 4/10. It’s just positively boring and unnecessarily harsh. Do yourself a favor and just get Bacardi Gold instead. Or, instead of either of them, get an actually good rum.