Not much of a story behind this one either. I saw a Hamilton rum at a liquor store, thought “oh neat, I have never bought a Hamilton rum before” and bought it.

I’ll be comparing it with Pusser’s (blue label), another rum from DDL.

Review

Smell

Compared to the deep, raisiny smell of Pusser’s, Hamilton 86 has a milder aroma. I still get the same raisin smell, but also, a little bit of what I can only describe as “new furniture” smell.

Taste

It tastes basically the same as Pusser’s, though both the flavor and the burn are milder in Hamilton than Pusser’s. Otherwise, the flavor is the same.

In a daiquiri, I was surprised, because I thought the story would be the same: Hamilton 86 tastes the same as Pusser’s, but milder. But actually, Hamilton has a whole citrus flavor going that’s not present in Pusser’s. The exact aroma that I described as smelling like “new furniture” is present in the taste, and the taste is sort of like raspberries and orange peel. It’s pretty delicious in its own right, and like I said, it burns less than Pusser’s.

Verdict 6.25/10

(Edited from 8/10 on 1/4/26)

I gave Pusser’s an 8/10, and I don’t feel like Hamilton 86 is substantially different enough to warrant a different score. I was actually going to dock half a point for being a slightly milder Pusser’s, until the fruity floral notes came in on the back end to make me reconsider. Overall, a very good rum. I am just not sure if I prefer it over Pusser’s— it just doesn’t stand out very much for me.

January 4, 2026 Update:

Just trying it again, once again, I just feel like it is very similar to Pusser’s, so I was going to give it a 6.5, same as Pusser’s, until, once again, I decided that I just like Pusser’s sliiiiiightly more. But do I downgrade it to a while 6/10? I don’t think it’s that different. So, I decided to split the difference and assign it a 6.25/10.