When I did my review of Old Monk XO Amber 20, someone messaged me that they have the original XXX 7yr and can send me a sample to try side by side, so of course I said yes. So, as I don’t have pics of the bottle, I have a poorly photoshopped picture of a bird opening the bottle.

By the way, if you ever wondered why this rum, the XO Amber 20, and most Indian spirits in general are 42.8% ABV, you may recall that full proof strength in the British Empire was defined as 57.15%, and 42.8% ABV is actually 75 degrees proof.

Note: I can also see a list of ingredients on the label: Demineralized water, extra neutral alcohol, malt spirit, caramel color, and natural & artificial rum flavor.

Review

Smell

Intense sweetness, caramel, and brown sugar, as well as definitely the same blend of spices as in the XO Amber 20. Cinnamon, cardamom, etc. it’s hard to pick them all out, it’s like a pastry bouquet.

Taste

My initial reaction was “oh no”. Quite bitter. Not very flavorful and burns a lot. It is not an easy sipper. I also can’t really tell that this rum has any actual rum flavor, it just tastes like the spice mix in alcohol. Notes of burnt sugar, dark chocolate, cardamom, allspice, anise. Short finish, thin body.

In a rum and cola, it’s passable. I tried it side to side with XO Amber 20, and I still prefer the rum and coke with the XO Amber 20, but the gap is narrowed by the soda.

Verdict 4/10

There is a lot of similarities in the tastes of XXX and XO Amber 20. But the big difference is that XO Amber 20 actually is light, the rum flavor is smooth, and it has notes of butterscotch and vanilla that actually make it a very nice mixer with cola, and almost a passable sipper. I genuinely don’t mind it. XXX, however, is definitely best mixed with cola, as a cheap way to get drunk. In that respect, it’s not bad. In fact, I would say that it’s largely saved by how decent it is in cola vs how unpleasant it is neat. The spices are interesting, but the rum is pretty bland and harsh.