Abuelo Gran Reserva 12-Year

Duft af kirsebær, portvin og vanilie.
Smag af vanilie, røg og fad god sød eftersmag

The aroma is the best part of this rum. It's quite tropical. I get ripe mango, banana, some vanilla and coconut and the inside of a cigar box. Initial sip is smooth and pleasant, but after that it quickly becomes cloying, saturating my taste buds with sugar. This is overly sweet and has been sugared beyond a doubt. Not many redeeming features beyond the sweetness. Lots of banana, honey and vanilla, some orange peel and baking spices/cinnamon, but ultimately very one dimensional, because the sugar overpowers everything else. Having said that: there's also nothing in the Abuelo 12 that's unpleasant and it's a good bottle to have on the shelf in case of visitors who like their rum sweet and soft. Finish is short with a subtle oaky bite that's somewhat pleasant. Final point of critisism: the bottle is very brown and very boring. Maybe they went for rustic, but it looks cheap

Nothing really special about it. A good yet slightly sweetened choice.

You might like to drink this after dinner, if you don't fancy amaretto or baileys. It's sweet but in the sticky sense. The thing that I don't like about it is that all the flavours you get with your first sip, are gone within seconds. One-dimensional and overly sweet, but I can see how it also can be an instant hit for some people.

Tested this long ago and you can definitely taste that it’s a Panamanian Ron. It has it all, but everything is weaker than in the better ones.
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Tasted it again during Birka’s rumcruise 22/3-2019 at a Master class and this time I had difficulty to distinguish from Havana Club 7yo.
So my rating will not be changed.
Picture: Brands included at the blindtest.

Too much oak, plus I dont like the aftertaste. Nothing to remember after the bottle is gone.

Pretty sweet rum compared to the entry level and 7years Abuelo.
Super caramely and vanila aromas / flavors with himts of orange notes.

Od Abuela 12YO som očakával čosi viac. Je to chutný rum,skôr ostrejší s dymovym podtónom,no ničím má neprekvapil. Zreteľne cítiť aj dozrievanie v sudoch po whiskey,ale dal by som mu tak 5,8 bodu.

This rum has a very sharp alcohol smell, the taste is light fruity.

A average okay rum. Strong first-touch that reminds me to cocnac

Not outstanding, but good for mixong drinks. On the dry side

I finally got around to buying a bottle of this highly rated rum from Panama. The nose is of leather and wood. On the tongue, it is vanilla and caramel. Then it is followed by a nasty bitter burn at the back of my throat. After waiting a few hours and trying again, the nasty after burn was replaced by the taste of shoe leather. The wooden planks of the barrel are held together by leather, which is where this taste comes from. However, this aftertaste is so undesirable that I recommend a slogan for this distiller, "Abuelo...for the masochist lurking within all of us". Sorry, but I can only rate it as a 5 and after not liking their Anejo, I will not buy any more Abuelo. It is a decent rum, but just not for me.

You have all heard of funky Jamaican rums and my 12-year Appleton Estate Reserve Blend had a love/hate relationship with me because of the unique funk. I thought that funky rums were unique to Jamaica until now. This one is a funky Panamanian! If that floats your boat, then go for it.

And finally after a few more tastings, this one was aged in port wine casks. Personally, I love port wines such as Dow's Tawny Port, but not mixed with my rum. Sorry, but the combination of these two polar opposites comes off to this drinker as funky Panamanian. I have also had not much luck with other rums aged in sherry or port casks such as Papa's Pilar Dark. Knowing this tidbit will save me lots from buying rums that are highly rated by drinkers who like the fortified wine barrels for aging.

Příjemná vůně, tvrdý alkohol. Myslím, že za tyhle peníze se dají koupit zajímavější kusy...

The twelve year aged offering from Abuelo is surprisingly IMO their worst offering that I've sampled. The smell and taste are both very harsh and give me more of an impression of whiskey than rum. Stick with the 7

molasses. sweet.
i smell chocolate, pear and some wood tones.
i taste dried fruit, pepper, oak, dark chocolate.
4/10 - add 5 points to get the score if you like sweet rums!
the abuelo 12 ist a good sipper for a day to day rum. i thin i little less sweet than the diploamtico. lighter fruit notes and definitley more interesting. still a sweet rum.

Fruit in abundance, cognac like aroma and after taste. Somewhat medicinal aroma though. Probably added sugar, color and vanilla.
sugar test results-29g

No es el tipo de ron que me gusta. Olor de madera, muy poderoso. Color de un añejo potente. El sabor.: presencia de roble muy fuerte sin poder sacar ningun otro sabor. Parece que lo han rellenado a un barril podrido. A mi no me convence.

Sampled Ron Abuelo 12 yr rum and was disappointed by the overwhelming sweetness of this rum (29 gpl). Not a fan!