Cartavio XO

V mém případě se těžko bude hledat něco víc, nasládlý, luxusní moučník

Romain m à fait découvrir ce merveilleux rhum. Un goût de noisette de chêne, il est doux complexe et long en bouche. Vraiment un wow.

I got to talking at length with the bartender at a well stocked rum bar after sampling five of what he had on hand. He showed me a picture of this one on his smart phone. Holy smoke! It was already on my wish list here and I was prepared to find any excuse to drive 400 miles to the Houston area to get a bottle. My wonderful memory of Cartavio Solera 12 is what inspired me. Then the bartender told me what local liquor store stocked it. It had been years since I visited that one, which was before I retired almost four years ago. I drove over there with high hopes. Sure enough, there was one bottle left on the top shelf for only $66.

When I got my new baby home, I let it breathe in the snifter for at least a half an hour. I must say that this bottle exudes elegance, including a wire cage typically found around champagne corks to prevent them from popping out. The color is a rich dark reddish orange and almost transparent. If I had not known any better, I would assume that this is a dry rum from looking at it. It has 29 gpl of added sugar, which qualifies it as being heavily sweetened, but not quite a sugar bomb. The complex flavors on the aroma are too numerous to single out. It is rich and smooth on the palate and goes down with no after burn whatsoever. I will start by rating this as an 8, but it may move up to a 9. At this price and being heavily sweetened, I will need to use it up in 2-4 months. I always keep track of when each bottle was opened.

Update November 14, 2018: As good as it tastes in the snifter, there was just something about it whereby I was really hesitant to take another sip. Yes, it was super smooth swirling around a mouthful with no burn going down. And being down to the last six ounces in the bottle, I asked myself why is this aged rum looking red. Duh!!! It is all of the added sugars and no telling what else that is putting me off! So I added an ice cube, which did not improve it in the snifter. Then I did the unthinkable of adding lime, lemon, and orange juices to this last six ounces, which finally made it drinkable. Since this borderline sugar bomb deteriorated this much in only four weeks, I had no choice except to drop my rating from an 8 to a 7. In my overall rankings, it's younger brother Solera 12 still ranks much higher, which is also rated as a 7.

What a nice bottle! Well i usually prefer rum with a little more punch to it, the dryer ones. Ore at least the perfect balance between sweetness and dryness. But sometimes a more sugery rum put down my needs for candy. This is a great rum... But when the rum almost is on the edge to be an liqueur I loose my interest. Nose: fruits, brown sugar, plums. Palate: caramel, brown sugar, vanilla, chocolate in a sweety heaven!

Deep amber colour and a good nose with alcohol and age. The Solera process shows in this rum with the complex tastes and the burn of a younger rum. A good long finish with notes of caramel and wood. I was going to buy another because of the rating and availability but was slightly disappointed for $80can.

Sweet and smooth with a beautiful long finish. I've tried rum in nice bottles and thought... "they had to put this in a nice bottle to justify the price."

Ron Cartavio XO has been claiming gradually some fame in the US, which is a good thing since we need more quality Peruvian rums over here pronto! Ron Cartavio XO has plenty of good flavors and hardly any burn at the end. It also has a very good price-quality ratio. Very well done indeed.

First hints, slight bite. But let it breathe, even if only for a few minutes, and it opens beautifully. Soft, smooth... So smooth. Vanilla, caramel, burnt toffee, maybe brown sugar. Sweet, delicious. No bite.
Nice deep copper color. Inviting aroma
Lingering taste, it just sits on the back of your tongue, begging for another sip. And make no mistake, this is a beautiful sipper.

Nice bottle, comes in a tin. Only complaint it's a plastic cork.

This might be one in the finest rums I've ever had. Do not pass up an opportunity to try it.

Its not bad but the sugar content is way to high. It tells me there is something to hide. But ok to drink as a desert.Reallllly smooth.

I found this rum on a recent trip to Jacksonville and decided to mark one off my wish list.

Now I wish I hadn't bothered.

Apparently my opinion will be going against the grain here but this rum would be great if they hadn't sugared it so much.

Am I drinking rum or molasses with alcohol added?

This could almost be pancake syrup.

The syrupy sweetness is so overwhelming that it hides some elements and flavor profiles that would have made for a great rum.

But someone decided to ruin what could've been a great rum.

Forshame!

Paid way too much for this. Sad. My fault.

I forced myself to try to take extra sips and finally found some vanilla and toffee undertones to it along with some oak tannin. Even a hint of banana.

Beyond that, there's not much.

I read so many praises for this rum. Makes me wonder if I got a counterfeit because what I got sure ain't what others describe. Don't get me wrong...there are some sugared rums that I actually like but this one goes overboard. I cannot recommend it as a sipping rum unless you're into drinking syrup. I could see this being effectively used in drinks with an antithesis of sweetness such as coffee drinks or drinks using more bitters than the average. Any other suggestions? I cannot see this used in fruit-based drinks. The sugariness would be completely off the charts. And not in a good way.

My recommendation? Not worth the $65-70 price. Many better rums for half that.