Sazerac Ron Pontalba

Having grown up in New Orleans and seeing this rum named after the buildings that flank either side of Jackson Square, I just had to research it. Vic Bergeron (aka Trader Vic) was from New Orleans and used this rum in the 1930's as his standard mixer for his Tiki drinks. I have no idea if it faded out of fashion and is now making a comeback thanks to the Sazerac company based out of New Orleans, but at $7 per liter at clearance prices, how could I go wrong. All I wanted was a pain killer on a budget and only expected it to rate as a 5 at best. Instead, I wound up with a good gold mixer rum that I will gladly buy again. There also appears to be no added sugar with no ill after effects to be expected later.

Update December 7, 2019: I have since found out that this rum is a product of Barbados and sourced through Sazerac in New Orleans. This means no added sugar. However, since it is too rough to drink neat or on the rocks, I had to come up with a way to make it drinkable without adding any sugar from sodas or fruit juices. Using premium coconut water (with coconut bits strained out beforehand) will do the trick with 2 parts coconut water to 1 part Ron Pontalba. I upgraded this formula to my more highly rated Don Q Anejo dry rum and using this lighter Ron Pontalba still creates a better taste. The bottom line is that this is the only rum that I have rated as a 6 that I would not hesitate to buy again. Don't knock it until you have tried various methods like I did. Taking just one sip and spitting it out does not count.