Santiago de Cuba Siglo Y 1/2

Many thanks to Joola69 for picking this up in the Netherlands and transporting it all the way to California for another rare rum tasting!

This is the second most expensive rum I've ever tried, at around $1,750 (after the Havana Club Maximo). I think it's very good, but it didn't quite make my '10' list (I don't factor price into my ratings, so the high price didn't hurt my score).

We tried this alongside the Santiago de Cuba Extra Anejo 25-Year (~$350) and the Santiago de Cuba Isla del Tesoro (~$550). I think we both liked the Isla del Tesoro best with this being the 2nd best of the three. This is made with rum aged in oak for over 50 years. I've personally found 18 years to be about the ideal amount of aging for me, so the high amount of aging might be one reason why this wasn't my favorite of the three.

Smells and tastes of of caramel, spice, with some fruitiness (maybe calvados or cognac aging?), and tobacco. It really is a very nice rum, but not quite a 10 to me.

Phenomenal opportunity with Falcon91Wolvrn03 to test back-to-back-to-back Santiago de Cuba Siglo Y 1/2 and Isla del Tesoro alongside Santiago de Cuba 25y. They all have the exact same bright golden color. Siglo Y 1/2 has 50 year old rums and none of the Solera shenanigans. Siglo Y 1/2 has a very sturdy bottle design and a beautiful old school label. Plenty of Cognac flavors to your nose and palate when neat sipped. It's very sweet, but not as sweet as Isla del Tesoro. Siglo Y 1/2 has a very smooth ending, but somehow the Isla del Tesoro ending is even smoother and longer earning a slightly higher place in my all time top 20 list. Siglo Y 1/2 is ridiculously expensive at EUR 1,590 per bottle.