Don Q Anejo

20ml uit een advent kalender. Te weinig om een goed oordeel te vellen. Caramel, houtig, tabak. Geen suiker toegevoegd.

It has a pretty good taste. Although it is a bit "strong". Good price for what you get

Sugar:0-5 GPL. I found nothing special about this rum. Not the best for sipping by any means. Works well in a mixed drink. There are many other rums with the same Cuban style rum characteristics. Oak, spice, vanilla with a sharp edge overall.

Nase holzig mit fruchtigen Noten
Am Gaumen Süss
Leider sehr schneller abgang

Léger, facile d'approche, sur les épices. Bon rapport qualité-prix

Nothing really special though nice for a "daily" rum! Didn't blow me away, didn't make me wanna stop drinking so a worthy 6!

Other reviewers noted the similarities between this entry level rum and their Gran Anejo. I cannot think of a rum that is this cheap and still serves as a sipper. For the money, this one wins hands down over their Gran Anejo. Very smooth! It would also make a great mixer.

Update four days later: This rum makes one of the best Cuba Libres that I have ever had in my life! Forget the blanco rums for this drink! As for the taste vs cost ratio, this one wins hands down. Sure, there are much better sipping rums, but be prepared to pay 2-3 times more than one would for this one.

On another note, I was once anti-Don Q until I gave their Gran Anejo a try and was inspired by another reviewer to try this much cheaper and more flavorful rum. This one is definitely one to keep to avoid raiding the rum cabinet filled with much more expensive ones.

On still another note, if you wind up getting stuck owning a $51 bottle of Don Q Gran Anejo that is super smooth with almost no flavors, here is what to do with it. Try a 50/50 mixture of Don Q Anejo and Don Q Gran Anejo. You can even store this magical mixture back into that pretty bottle of Don Q Gran Anejo and most of your guests would never know. The Don Q Anejo has the much needed flavor while sacrificing some smoothness due to lack of aging. Together they make a fantastic combo. Gosh, why hasn't Don Q figured this out to sell us this mixture priced between $15 and $51? Don Q, this is your hint! I also should adopt a new nickname of Senor Simple Solera.

Update March 10, 2018: I bought another brand new bottle of Don Q Anejo and tested it against four other budget sipping rums between $11 and $23. As expected, the $11 Cruzan Gold lost out right away to Cruzan Estate Diamond Dark 5 year, which then lost out to Don Q Anejo. Then this Don Q beat my old standby of Flor De Cana 7. It was then a final comparison between this Don Q Anejo and my El Dorado 8, but that is like comparing two different rums, one is very dark and one is lighter. I liked the El Dorado 8 better, but at $8 more, I would expect this to be so. Since I would have to drive 25 miles one way to pick up new bottles of either one, my budget and mood would determine my go-to budget dark sipper at that time.

Update August 18, 2020: I just checked the website for Don Q rums. It appears that this old favorite will be discontinued or renamed Don Q Reserva 7.

Update December 15, 2020: I did get a hold of the replacement today and compared side by side. The taste differences are extremely subtle, but basically they are charging extra for the fancier bottle with a real cork. This one is aged 3 to 8 years. The Reserva 7 is aged 7 years.

Don Q makes a wide array of rums in the Spanish style, which are always going to be on the thinner, lighter side. It's a solid choice for any cocktail recipe calling for a Puerto Rican gold rum. It's an outstanding mixer.

I liked the taste and smell. Nice drink for a good price.

This was an okay experience, liked the smell and taste, but not as good as others I have tasted.