One of the smooooovest, tastiest spirits I have ever had

I am not a rich person. I am always lurking around the Epinions liquor area, and tastings.com, trying to find a good liquor that will justify a splurge of my hard earned money. I cringe to think how much time I have spent reading about liquor on the net, and not acutally drinking it.


That being said, you'll understand why I was excited to see that the Montgomery County Md. has put this fine rum on sale this month (November 2003). Cruzan Estate Single Barrel has received a lot of awards, and is rated highly in every review I could find. As the cap on the tube holding the bottle boasts, it has been voted "the world's best rum" at the San Francisco Spirits Competition. I'm willing to say that it totally lives up to this hype.

I purchased a bottle of this beautiful spirit for a mere $16/750ml. I honestly think that, based on the quality of this spirit alone, it would be worth buying at two or three times the price. Honestly, how much better could even the most expensive premium rum be than this?

The rum, which is 80 proof, is a dark amber color, more brown/yellow than red. It's aroma hold a strong whiff of vanilla and maple. It is light on the front of the tongue, which the rich array of delicate maple, honey and vanilla flavors which I assume are characteristic of find rum- no sickly sweet candied fruit taste here. It finishes with just the right amount of "spice" and tannin/oak notes on the back of the tongue, that compliment but do not dominate the flavor of the spirit. It is easy on the tongue and sinuses, and as smooth as cognac going down. It evaporates off the tongue and lips, just like cognac. In short, it lacks sting, but does not taste watered down. Perhaps hardcore scotch/bourbon drinkers might miss the "spice", but the rest of us probably wouldn't find fault with this at all.

To be honest, I do not have a lot of experience drinking spirits. But I do feel that the quality of this rum would be apparent to anyone, the casual drinker or the connaiseur. It is one of the few spirits that I have tasted (again, I tend toward less expensive stuff within my budget) that I would never consider mixing with anything else, water or otherwise. Perfect straight up, in moderation, of course.

NOTE: Anyone living in Montgomery County MD. right now (November 2003), it is on sale at the county-run liquor stores at a very reasonable price. Now's the time if you want to try this!