Rogue Dark

It's made in America, do I need to say more? I love that America tries, but there are so any better rums that are inexpensive then to buy American.

Picked this up on sale in MN for shockingly cheap. Coconut and vanilla on the nose. Coconut, vanilla, lots of oak, and cheap rum going down. Not really anything else? I hear this crew makes a great gin; maybe they should stick to it.

Not very dark in color. The bottle design has been redone using a resealable beer bottle design. I enjoyed sipping it.

First things first...this is not a dark rum. If anything it's more akin to Papa's Pilar Blonde Rum....light amber in color. The aroma nor the flavor is anything like dark rum. Not a good start to call yourself a "dark rum" in a bottle revealing a very light amber color. That alone knocks off two points in my book. I was expecting something a little more special for the cost but was severely underwhelmed. Unremarkable flavor. Some sweetness with hint of vanilla with toffee aftertaste. Some oak influence. I read good things about this rum but unfortunately did not live up to the hype. It is a "it will do" rum when you have no other options. Fortunately there are a plethora of very good sweet and dry rums for a similar price. I suggest the makers rename this as a "blonde" or "gold" rum and go back to the drawing board for a true dark rum.

I am a huge fan of Rogue Spruce Gin so I had high expectations when I saw they offered a rum. I purchased both the spiced and dark at the same time. After tasting the dark I was not impressed with it (never bothered to open the spiced). It may have just been a bad night for me but I have nothing memorable to say about it.

I will consider this at another time to see if something changes. For now I keep this bottle in my cabinet under the bar.