Flor de Caña 18-Year

...it needs to sit in your glass for a few minutes, swirled every now and then, to help the alcohol vapors make way for the wonderful flavors to follow. Liquid butterscotch, naturally sweet and oaky. It's really wonderful straight up. The second glass is even better. If you prefer sweetened rums you may hate this stuff at first, but letting it breathe will bring you pleasant and surprising happiness.

I picked up the Flor de Cana 18 when I was in Grand Cayman particularly due to the marketing signs mentioning the many Gold and Silver medals won in competition. I found it to be a wonderful rum with great balance and smooth finish.

The subtle mix of vanilla and caramel were the first scents that come across, with hints of toffee and butter. To the taste, definite vanilla, oak and toffee flavors linger on the tongue with an easy after taste and finish.

I have had this wonderful rum both on the Rocks, and also with Diet and regular Coke with a lime wedge, and the taste is incredible. Can't go wrong whichever way you prefer to induldge.

I usually prefer a more molasses based rum like Zaya Gran Reserva, but the Flor de Cana 18 is well worth the cost to try it for yourselves when you get a chance. Definitely has a permanent place in my rum cabinet. Enjoy!!!!! B

Can't help it. There is a rumbook out in Danish, and now I am collecting all 40 rums in that book.
So far i got 16 of them :)

A deep gold color visually exhibits what your taste buds are about to experience. Without disappointment, it delivers a rich and smooth "old world" mixture of molasses, oak, butterscotch, spirits and very subtle hints of aged bourbon. Attack this experience with a snifter to maximize your intake of the fine aroma, as it would be sinful to even think of having a mix or cola in the same room.

Was very much looking forward to this one from having read some of the other reviews but sadly a very disappointed experience.

The aroma is very nice and that's where all the niceties ends for me. The initial tastes gets quickly overwhelmed by the heavy oak and bitterness. Trying to stick with it and left it to breath for a month or so but still the oak tannen is drowning all the other flavours. I like a good dry rum but this is just in a different league and not in a good way.

It's like it's been left too long to mature in the barrel shifting the whole balance of flavour to a disappointing level.

Quick...where is the Coke

Actually, this 18 year old Flor de Cana is a bit harsher than it's 7 year old younger brother. Why pay a little more than double? Just to get a pretty bottle?

Update one month later: I have tried like hell to like this as a sipping rum, but even letting it breathe in the snifter or the bottle does little to improve the flavors other than to remove the alcohol burn. Save your money and get the best from the Central American Caribbean with Flor De Cana 7.

Update March 9, 2018: Adding ice cubes does nothing to improve this horrible rum. Don't be fooled by the otherwise high ratings. This rum is really crap! Sorry, but I always tell it like it is! I have just lowered my rating from a 6 to a 4. Flor de Cana needs to quit while they are ahead at 7 Anos. Only one other premium rum showed an epic fail for me, which was Mount Gay XO that tumbled from a rating of 8 to a 3.

I much prefer the 12 year. The 6 years difference seemed to make the interesting notes of the year vanish.

I like rum a lot, but I have never wanted to drink it straight. I prefer it in a (diet) Cuba libre. This rum is the smoothest rum that I have ever tasted.

This rum is smooth and holds lots of flavour, but not complex it is just nice to drink

Good colour, smell was good, little dry, caramel, fruits, but almost no afterburn and no taste remaining. Glad to test it but this will not be my favourite