Alright, I am back from the Dominican Republic. Yet again, my plans to visit Barceló have been dashed by circumstances beyond my control. So I will stop delaying and just go through the Barceló rums that I have tried.

Review

Smell

A nice nose of oak, vanilla, and wood. A bit of harsh alcohol as well.

Taste

It goes down smoother than the nose would suggest. Notes of vanilla, woody oak, and it’s noticably sweet but not overwhelmingly sweet. There’s also a slight sourness to it that I notice some cheaper rums have and I don’t quite know what it is that I’m tasting. It’s got an okay body, not very complex, and overall not really a big departure from Brugal. In fact I think it’s very comparable to Brugal XV and Doble Reserva.

I made a daiquiri with it, and it wasn’t that bad, aside from being kind of woody. Definitely not as good as a Havana Club daiquiri, or even a Brugal Anejo daiquiri, but it’s alright.

It’s much better in a rum old fashioned. But, still, it just doesn’t quite excel at anything.

Verdict 5.5/10

This is a pretty archetypical Dominican rum. Not much going on in terms of crazy flavors, since it’s basically aged neutral spirit. It’s not as good for sipping as something like Brugal 1888, and it’s not as flavorful for mixing as Brugal Extra Viejo. It’s pretty forgetable, aside from being sort of the compass against which Dominican rum gets judged, since it’s so affordable, widely available, and half decent. 5.5/10