Real McCoy Single Blended 5-Year

We had it at False Idol as part of a tasting. still very sweet, caramel and brown sugar, but with some banana? oily still, and keeping the heat. a lot of the char from the barrels.

This one was given to me as a gift. I like it, I think it is a good rum.

Golden in color. A soft bourbon and a hint of alcohol on the nose. Oaky, quite dry and really bourbonny flavors at first and turns into a long oak/nutty after taste. A bit too dry for my taste, but I'll enjoy it somewhat.

A good solid rum for mixing or drinking neat. Lovely Barbados flavours

Brush me barnacles! This run has bite! Aye, she be sweet smellin' with a decent amount of caramel and oak, but there also be somethin' warm and baked and buttery, a hint of banana, and a wee bit of spice. She'll bite your tongue for sure, and she not be as sweet as she smells, but she be enjoyable nonetheless. The oak and the caramel come aboard first, along with whatever it was that was warm and baked and buttery. The banana, not so much, but the spiciness carries, along with a nuttiness towards the end. She has a fatty smooth mouthfeel - like the kind you don't mind payin' extra for when stuck at port - and zero burn goin' down the hatch. Aye, this be a decent sipper! Not as outstandin' as The Ship's Doctor (Real McCoy 12-year), but still fierce. What do you expect from an intern? arrgh!

Ce rhum de mélasse n à rien d exceptionnel. C est un rhum moyen. Le goût sur des notes caramélisées est mal maîtrisé et avec une faible complexité et puissance. Si vous êtes débutant il ne sera pas trop desagreable. Pas pour les confirmés. Note 6.0.

My wife liked it more than me. I found the after burn to be pretty strong; mixed was far less so (as it should be). No standout flavor, but what was there was decent.

Sometimes age lends an advantage. This is certainly true regarding the McCoy 5 year versus 12 year.

Nose - Butterscotch, Toffee, Chocolate
Palate - Brown Sugar, Spice, Ginger

The finish is where the fumble occurs.

Close to being great, but as the old men say, "Close only counts in horseshoes, hand grenades and slow-dancing."

Of the 50 or so rums I have sampled, this is the one I say tastes like a quintessential rum.
It is just a little too harsh to be a sipping rum but I enjoy tasting it as I am mixing drinks ... a little rum for the cocktail ... a little rum for the bartender. And whenever I taste it I think "that tastes like what I imagine the pirates drank!"

I'm not that great at describing tastes and it is difficult with this one because it is not too complex.
It is not super smooth like an expensive sipping rum and likely doesn't have much, if any, caramel added to it. I get a bit of charcoal and smoke on the finish of this one, too.

I suspect whiskey lovers could take to this rum.

A good, inexpensive($27 for750mL) aged rum. Sweet caramel and oak flavors with just a little heat.