What's After Diplomatico Reserva?

Try Bumbu XO if you like Diplo Exlusiva. 

Thanks for the recommendation...I got turned off by Bumbu original, I thought it had a ghastly artificial banana taste...the XO is actually a couple of bucks cheaper at TW, is it distinctively different from the original?  Whatever the case, I appreciate your suggestion.

I would say that Centenario 20 should be a safe bet for you, given your criteria and if you want to stick with them. (Which is fine, no snobbery here, genuinely trying to be helpful). Even though I must add that I would not normally recommend that Centenario 20 and have rated it quite low.

If you feel adventurous and if you want to widen your perspective a bit, Pusser's Blue (the "normal" one, at 40%) is highly recommended and inexpensive. It is reasonably sweet without much (or possibly even without any) sugar added. If you find it too harsh for your palate, you could still mix it with other rums to give them a bit of a kick.

My other recommendation would be to look into liqeurs. You may find that you enjoy something like amaretto or a herbel liqueur of your choice mixed with a cheap rum.

Hello Dave,  Santa Teresa 1796 I would say is better than Zacapa 23 for sure. EL Pasador De Oro has an XO and Gran Reserve that are also probably what you are looking for in terms of sweet rums. Appleton 8 year or 12 year are also sweet. Also Pyrat XO (probably the cheapest of the ones I mentioned) but this really is pushing the sweetness level to the max. Also has an orange citrus taste that stands out. 

If Appleton 12 is sweet, then Pussers is sweet as well. I am nearly sure that Appleton is unsweetened and classifies as a dry rum. I find all the Pussers rums sweeter than Appleton 12.

plantation rums are sweet 

Hallo Dave

If You like a little bit sweet rums I recomend for example Abuelo XII for start on this path

All good suggestions so far. Diplomatico makes 2 exquisite rums a notch above Riserva. The Diplomatico Family reserve (Riserva de Familia) is available at our Total wine. It's $49 bottle 43% alcohol sold in 700 ml European size bottles. It is hands down superior to regulat DR. I believe the regular DR has more sugar than allowed for European sales as Rum. This is the go between. Also the single Vintage Diplimatico is a real treat but over $100 a bottle but worth it for Christmas or special milestones. 

Oh, another thing: you might want to try brandy and/or cognac. If you have not yet, you might be pleasantly surprised. Plus quality brandy is not terribly expensive (cognac is though, so I would not really recommend cognac).

Background: Nearly all brandy is made with sipping in mind. It is very usual to sweeten brandy, ranging from slightly to noticeable. This means that most brandy is relatively smooth. An exception is armagnac, which usually is allowed to keep a few edges. Also, brandy is usually semi-sweet; but with a lot of the aromas that people tend to like about the so-called premium rums, like plum, raisin, hints of smoke, vanilla, woody notes, sweet-sour aromas etc. Also, brandys are often fine-tuned towards a mouthfeel that is similar to premium rums.

I would go as far as to suggest that most people would not be able to tell apart Centenario 20 in a blind tasting involving sweet brandys, especially those of the Spanish style (Osborne mostly).

Again, all the above is meant purely descriptive. Taste is an individual matter and I totally respect that people like sweetened spirits. While I prefer dry, even I like some sweetened rums and I do like many sweetened brandys.

Thanks for all the input and suggestions, but I gave the wrong impression.  I'm just beginning to explore rums and the Diplomatico, though a bit sweet even for me, was the most palatable I've yet come across.  I'm a bit bored with whiskeys and want to graduate to something different.  I enjoy brandies and good liqueurs in small amounts but I'm not looking for a sweet syrup of any sort...I prefer drier spirits but to my uneducated palate other rums I've tried come across as rather harsh.  I've ordered some reading material, starting with Rum, The Manual by Dave Broom.  If you have other reading recommendations I'm wide open to suggestions.  I want to learn more about rum and as I said, the Diplomatico was only a starting point (and it still tastes good to me).  I want to know a suggested next step.  I'm budget-strapped and $60 is the most I can cough up, $40 is even better.  As I also said, one well-reviewed one I tried--the Mount Gay Black Barrel--strikes me as more of a not-so-good bourbon than what I expect rum to taste like, likely due to bourbon-cask aging (and I love good bourbon).  Since my original post, I picked up some El Pasador de Oro XO that's tasty but I still don't know what's considered "sweet" rum vs. the real deal.  Obviously it's whatever you prefer but I'm still asking the question I first posted--What's After Diplomatico Reserva?  The Diplomatico is likely what I'd recommend to another newbie wanting to explore beyond the Ron Bacardi, Myer's and Captain Morgan's we experienced in college 50 years ago.  I'm eager to learn about a new spirit for sipping, and I don't want mixers, brandies, liqueurs et. al.  So where should I go from here, with a still-virginal rum palate?  In my price range, what can I best learn to next appreciate (drier rather than sweeter)?

Typo in my last reply...I didn't mean Ron Bacardi but the $11 Bacardi Gold, introduced to me as "good" rum back in the 70's--back then there was little else on the market--and likely the reason I had a poor opinion of rum in general until recently...I considered it the poorest of liquors, if that was a good representative.

A

In that case, I would repeat my suggestion of Pusser's. Hardly anything you could do wrong with that one.

doorlys xo chairman's reserve.. Saint James xo Appleton 12, years old Bacardi gran reserve diez ten years old 

brugal 1888.don Q's 

end of the day u just need to try different rums until u get a good idea what u like .check out the fat rum pirate website he's one person who's reviews a lot off rums 

Rumtrinker--Thanks for recommending the Pusser's...I'm a longtime fan of 19th century British nautical fiction, such as Patrick O'Brien and C.S. Forester, and after reading detailed descriptions of the ghastly Navy rum mixed with slimy water and lemon juice--grog--I would have likely avoided anything labelled as "Navy" on general principles...I'm a U.S. Navy vet and know they never provide the finest of anything.  The Pusser's is enjoyable and affordable though I can't quite describe it as a great sipper.  I'm evolving but I still have a bit of a sweet tooth I guess...my latest is El Pasador de Oro XO which I wouldn't even recognize as sweet if others hadn't said so.    Based on what I've read here and on fatrumpirate, my next choice will likely be Doorly's 12YO.  I can't find any Appleton or Foursquare-branded rums locally but Total Wine does have Doorly's which I gather is still produced by the Foursquare distillery.  It's all a learning process for me, I kind of know my way around bourbons and vodkas though I've mostly stuck with beer for 20 years.  Rum is an entirely different world and I'm developing a new palate to appreciate it.  Thanks for your input and suggestions, I'm still in elementary school and you're a patient teacher.

I find that many of the more "frightening" rums lose a bit of their fire if you add a few drops of water.

While I do not like Doorly's very much (experience is limited to the XO, which I find boring), I like Doorly's mixed with Pusser's :)

No banana finish on the XO. I like it.