Whaler's Original Dark

While exploring the Abyss of rum, I found this one to be one of the darkest of all. It does have a sweet vanilla cherry smell to it but not overpowering at all. This one didn't jump out at me one way or the other, the flavour seemed almost perfectly neutral, not sweet, not citrus, and even the alcohol doesn't burn. But beware it is lurking in the briny deep and will strike without warning. This rum is smooth and I could drink one after another on the rocks and not tire of the flavour. May end up smashed on the rocks :-)

This rum I was not expecting much from. In fact I thought I would hate it. This is a rum I was aware of for a while. I stopped by a liquor store I never frequent after picking up some dry cleaning. I never like to leave some place without buying anything. This place made it really hard I either have and had not tried everything they had or had, or would never buy or drink it (swill). I saw this bottle and I did consider this to be on my trying list, given its history as a blend created in Hawaii. At 14.99 for 1L I decided to try it, I was in a rare mood for some Cuba Libre. I opened this bottle and I can't say I hated the Aroma of it. In fact I somewhat mildly enjoyed the aroma of this bottle at that price point I heavily enjoyed it actually. The smell almost was of bubblegum and I found my self sniffing the bottle at one point. I tried this against all advice neat first. It had some light fire in the throat but overall I was surprised and consider this a rum that could be sipped rather easily. I mixed this with coke and lime, it was excellent no complaints. This was a surprise to me. I can't rate this less than a 7 due to the price point.

This is a decent bottle. It's a little too sweet for me, but I like the smoothness. Not something that I would buy all the time, but nice for a change...

Tasted June 20, 2021 - the Summer Equinox.
Perhaps I was blinded by the summertime light, but I really enjoyed tasting this rum neat, instead of as a floater the way I usually encounter it.
My notes indicate that at the time I felt this rum was "a revelation" and appreciated the "affordable tastiness." I also wrote down, "this is really yummy!" which is something I don't always say the first rum of the afternoon.

Tasted at Laka Lono on 6/20/21. Pours a crazy dark black. Aroma of vanilla and molasses. Sugary sweet caramel toffee. A bit of bubble gum. Quick finish. There's no aftertaste to this even though everything here must be entirely synthetic chemical flavorings. Can't beat the price for this rum. Should be everyone's rum of choice for a Mai Tai floater.

This is a good but not great rum. It is pretty smooth and has a nice flavor. It's dark and decently sweet. The Reserve is virtually the same product, so don't feel like you're missing out if this is the only one you can find. I still prefer Myers to Whalers but Whalers is still a winner. Worth a try!

Smells like a clear rum. Has a sweet start to it. Very little burn.

I tend to gravitate towards spiced rum. That being said I enjoyed this very much. Not to much of anything overpowering. well balanced. I like the old bottle I have better than the new one.

This stuff has a very nasty artificial bubble gum taste, I am quite surprised that so many people have given this good ratings.

I first tried this rum in Hawaii way back in 1994. My memory of it was awful, so I have ignored it every time I see it on the shelves. I walked into one store and there were all of the Whaler rums on the bottom shelf, with this one only being $15. So I thought WTF and bought it.

All I can say now is that it is slightly smoother than Myer's Dark. I gather that casks of this Hawaiian rum are now shipped to the bourbon capital of the world in Bardstown, Kentucky, which is where this is now bottled. I no longer find it disgusting, but I have had many more rums that taste a lot worse than this one. This will do well in coffee, and basically, that is all this rum is good for.