Koloa Dark

A nice sweet rum with an interestingly pleasant aroma in the bottle. It has distinct molasses and vanilla flavors. Although not a sipping rum, this would be fantastic in mixed drinks calling for dark rum. Definitely recommended.

Wow. This is the most overpriced bottle of vanilla extract. I'm sure it makes lovely mixed drinks, but I don't really drink those. Serious notes though; smells pleasant to start, deep caramel aroma, taste starts as that but after 3 seconds in the mouth vanilla and heavy alcohol flavor take over and dominates. I have an urge to bake now...not a sipper

ALSO . . . . Excellent neat, on the rocks, or with a mixer. Recommended by a dear friend, solid choice and one I always try to have in my bar. A firm dark sipping Rum to have for folks with a newer palate for dark rums.

The dark is best neat. A different taste and notes, not better nor worse than Carribean rums, but a refreshing different rum.

A pretty tasty combination of sweet and spice. Goes great in dark n stormys and hot buttered rum. Color does not come from aging, but artificial coloring and the added ingredients.

Been meaning to try this company for a bit. Unique terroir but tastes like added flavours. Sweet, a bit peppery with some cherry and chocolate flavours. Glad I tried and will likely try the other varieties, however for the same price I would get another rum if it wasn't for the novelty of Hawaiian rum.
... after another glasses, all I taste is vanilla and sweet burnt sugar.... dropped from a 7 to a 6. I mean if you like the taste of s'mores, this rum is for you.

Aroma - warm chocolate followed by sweet bread and a hint of barrel wood.

Taste - fresh chocolate chip cookies

Okay, so I have a bit of explaining to do. I tried as best as I could to get another flavor out of this rum besides the cookies but I simply could not. This is by far the strangest phenomena I have ever come across in a rum. I even cross referenced it with my dad who doesn't drink hard liquor at all and he came up with the exact same taste. This is a weird rum for sure but I think I found a use for it. I don't think it would mix very well, especially not in a classic Tiki drink, but I think it would be a great tool to use when introducing people to rum for the first time. It is obviously sweet, but not artificially like Bumbu, has no alcohol burn, fairly easy to find, can be bought in 50ml samples, and at $26 to $34 isn't going to bankrupt anyone. I recommend people try it if they can find a 50ml sample, but this one isn't for me.

My rum journey is fairly new and this was one of the first rums I tried. It even shows up at Costco from time to time for around $26 which is a bargain. Over $35 would definitely lower my rating. The first thing that comes to mind is vanilla on the taste. For me this has a lot of vanilla. I enjoyed sipping this on ice and in tiki cocktails where Smugglers Cove calls for dark rum. I purchased a second bottle for my rum bar so I am giving it a 7.

When I visited the distillery, they had not come out with his little gem yet but ran across it on a recent trip to Total Wines. Having enjoyed the other Koloa rums on my trip to Kauai I decided to give this a go.
I will say right from the start this rum is not for everybody. I enjoy a sweet rum sipper for "dessert" and this one borders the too sweet category. But if you like a sweet sipper after dinner, I highly recommend this one. Nose is all vanilla/caramel and the taste, even more so. Smooth going down with a long-lasting aftertaste that is like having just finished a candy. I bought it again already so that will tell you what I thought about it.

This is probably the best dark rum I've ever tried. Amazing nose and a flavor smooth enough for sipping.