Bajan Estate XO

Brought back to Oz from my trip back to the UK , along with 5 other rums you cant buy here. The info on the bottle sounds alot like Plantation 20 XO so for a measly 20 quid on special at Marks & Sparks it was worth a go..
Definitely more astrigent upon opening so I left it in the glass for a good 15 mins. Eventually I found the fruity aroma of the Plantation and even the toasted coconut..
It sipped ok but an ice cube helped mellow this youngish ? spirit.
Bit of a bite and the caramel and sugar on the label was duly noted ! Overall a very good rum but a bit short on the "original"
If living in the UK buy yourself a bottle , great taste , great value.

This house brand of the premium supermarket Marks & Spencer caught my eye as the shelf label mentioned C. Ferrand. Could this be a house brand version of the lovely Plantation XO? I had to find out.

Details are vague on the origin of this rum. Some make reference that this is from Foursquare (always good). Others mentions that this is Plantation Barbados 5yo. I happened to have some Plantation XO and the Barbados 5yo (although both had been open for a few months) left so a tasting session was in order.

Having poured a dram of each the M&S & Plantation XO are almost identical in colouring. So good old caramel colouring which the label on the M&S does make mention of as well as sugar as an ingredient (thumbs up there although no mention of the amount) . The Barbados 5yo is slightly lighter in colour to the other two. Further similarity pretty much ends here.

The aroma of the M&S XO is a bit closer to the Plantation XO than 5yo but is definitely sweeter. Notes of sweet vanilla, caramel but overall lacks complexity. Taste compares similarly to the aroma with sweet, some spice and strong oak but overall does disappear quickly though.

“Luckily” (or not) it doesn’t come near the Plantation XO (but this is more than twice the price) in both flavour & aroma nevertheless for the price point this is an excellent supermarket branded rum which is great as both a sipper and mixer.

Would I buy it again… probably not as for a few quid more you are in the realms of RL Seale 10 yr old.

From the nose and the fact it’s from M&S I’d guess this rum is produced by Plantation. It’s nicely sweet, has a mouth of caramel and orange and is reasonably smooth. More than good enough to sip.

I have got nearly only good things to say about his rum, so let's get the one slight negative over with quickly....it's maybe just slightly too sweet.

I believe that there is roughly 20g of sugar in it. I haven't got an issue with adding sugar (or caramel or anything else for that matter) as long as the bottlers tell us on the label - rum has a very long history of having things added to it and often for the better. Like beer, rather than whisky, it thrives on huge rather than middling or small variation. Halleluljah for that!

I love the smell of this, the taste, aftertaste etc, but after I get past sipping around 3 or 4cl, I feel myself thinking, "hmm, it's getting just a little bit syruppy now. I wish it has only 15g of sugar." The sweetness suits it, but personally a little less would be even better.

But that's it - other than that, this is fab. It's clearly good rum at a wonderful price. The bottle's nice, even if the label is a tad dull. It tastes like a lot of people would imagine rum to be - it's warm, sweet, smooth and has that caramelly-slightly woody-hint-of-vanilla-hint-of-caribbean-spices taste that the mid's eye associates with rum. It has an alcoholic kick too - but not too much to put anyone off. You could serve this to anyone wanting to try rum and there's a high chance they'd be sold on it...
What more do you want - go grab a bottle!

Finally, is it as good as somehting £10-15 more expensive? No....not if you buy wisely. It hasn't got the complexity of something like El Dorado 12. But for the price, this is great.

So smooth.
Easily drank neat.
£27 but well worth it for the lack of negative morning after effects.
Nothing bad at all.

Cleverly branded By M&S but clearly a plantation rum. Most beautiful taste for the money ....caramel, banana, toffee and vanilla super smooth and very moorish.

this is very drinkable, usually drink Pussers or Woods navy grog, but this is easy on the throat and moreish. Be careful!

I agree with opinions here that this one is similar to plantation xo. Not that complex and smooth but still very good rum. Flavours of vanilla, banana and caramel with little alcohol burn at the end.

£24 and it is yours. They even had 20 cc bottles if you are unsure at a pro rate price.
This a cognac like for sipping neat or a few drops of whatever to pull out more flavour. No bite and not sweet.
Gift with confidence.

A smooth drinking rum available at M&S, in a lovely bottle