I want to combo break from the Dominican Republic again, because I think I may have found a rum competing to be my favorite, again. I have two variants of Doctor Bird. The original one you can get anywhere, and the blend exclusive to The Inferno Room, a tiki bar in Indianapolis.

Note: It carries NAS, apparently it’s aged in the US in ex-bourbon barrels (not in Jamaica?) and finished in PX sherry casks.

Review

Smell

This thing is fantastic. You take the cap off, and the rum fills the room. Very strong pineapple, banana, sweet, fruity, tropical. Basically the same as the classic Doctor Bird, but even stronger! Makes sense, it’s the same base rum, but this is higher proof.

Taste

It reminds me more of Stolen Rum Overproof (7 year aged HLCF iirc?) because of the higher proof and the more pronounced aging. But the base flavor is still very similar to Doctor Bird, just noticably amped up and with a sherry finish.

I made myself several daiquiris. Doctor Bird, Inferno Room, Smith & Cross, and DOKTOK split base 1:1 with Diplo Planas as DOK tends to overwhelm. Well, maybe I am just becoming a dunderhead, but DOKTOK split with Planas was my favorite daiquiri of the bunch. But it was veeery close. Honestly I should have also split base for Inferno Room because it’s challenging to drink a daiquiri that is 2 parts rum, 1 part lime, and 1 part syrup, when the rum is a 60% ABV funk bomb. But they are all delicious. I can’t emphasize enough what a fantastic break this is from so much Dominican rum. I would put Smith & Cross and Doctor Bird tied for 2nd to DOKTOK in the daiquiri tasting, and honestly, I feel like I still need to find the right cocktail for Doctor Bird Inferno Room, because the sherry flavor doesn’t really work quite as well in a daiquiri, even after compensating for the overwhelming ABV and funk.

Verdict 8/10

I have very similar feelings as the original Doctor Bird, but of course, there’s some key differences. It’s higher ABV, which makes it harder to drink neat or in a daiquiri, so this rum is well and truly intended to be mixed deep like in a jungle bird. And also, it’s a sherry finish, which I definitely think can work in some cases, but a daiquiri just might not be it. I tried what remains of it in a pepsi, and of course, I could barely taste the pepsi— it just takes over. I only ordered a sample of it, so unfortunately I don’t have enough to try in a Jungle Bird, Mai Tai, Jet Pilot, etc. to see where it really fits in. As such, I am giving it somewhat of a soft 8/10 because I can see myself being convinced either way, but just the fact that I’d have to go to Indianapolis and pay $43 for a bottle sort of makes me think that I won’t be trying more any time soon. I’ve heard some people comparing this one to Hampden Pagos (and that Pagos is also a bit of a weird one for Hampden).