Wood's 100 Old Navy

This has all the connections and nostalgia that rum should have. When you drink this you could imagine you are out at see, or half way around the world.

You could imaging drinking it in a warm home with friends or when it’s freezing on a rooftop bar in a European city.

It’s dark, but not overly sweet, it packs a real punch but does not destroy your taste buds.

For me this is the definition of rum.

Current bottling, 2017:
57% ABV (the original "100 proof"). Big nose of molasses, brown sugar, and vanilla. Very sharp. Drinkable neat, but very sweet. This would be great in eggnog. 6+, 7-

1960s bottling:
Semi-sweet chocolate chip nose. Some high notes but no ethanol. Smooth yet slightly prickly palate. Has an old/musty element. Very nice. 7, 7+ for rarity?

A staple diet for every British sailor was pussers and woods.
It's like mothers milk to us old uns

The perfect Rum for toasts

Surprised our Navy is so respected if they got on this before battle. Bugger me, it's lethal. But very tasty. Tried it neat and I admit I'm not man enough to do that again. Slapped some ice and pepsi in it.

Closing my eyes while tasting this Rum I found it strong on the nose with a chocolate like aroma . It reminds me of a long ago dock ale house of the 18th century this is not a rum for the faint of heart but I like its strength. It is truly a Navy Dark when neat with a burn that is both pain and pleasure like a good hot sauce

The rum itself is very dark, almost black in the bottle, perhaps the result of aging in heavily charred barrels, but more likely a result of a liberal dose of the caramel coloring.

The nose is heavy and sweet, chocolate, a bit of cinnamon, pudding.

The palate is sweet and oaky, with smoky, slightly astringent, complex notes that gradually develop into a lasting, powerful, slightly spicy finish. Notes of cocoa, tobacco, muscavado sugar, leather, and banana. The mouthfeel is full and rounded.

This rum can be enjoyed on the rocks or with a splash of water, but excels as a mixer in Dark and Stormy, or even rum-based Old Fashioned.

Rubbery and earthy on the first sniff. Follow by dark chocolate, toffee, flambe banana, jackfruit and sweet spices such as anise and clove.
Very complex on palate. woody, earthy with a touch of burned/ charred aroma flavor.
It tends to be slightly sour and salty (dried sour plum with sugar dust) and follow with sweet bitterness towards to end. It's then covered with flavor of clove and honey syrup.
Unripe banana which itch the gum on the finishing and sweet spices lingering .

This dark rum is how I believed all rum tasted before I found out that.it doesn't.
It is that traditional strong taste of the rum rationed daily to seamen of the Royal Navy for centuries.
I still like it and do buy myself the occasional bottle of this sweet coal juice.

Heavy - and made heavier with copious amounts of caramel. Bitter notes afloat. Demerara? Nah. A cheap version of it.

Wood's is a true classic and it's easy to see why sailors were upset when the tot was stopped if this was what they were drinking. This rum is exceptional value for money and a classic, using a recipe from 1887 and distilled in the world's oldest and only wooden still. I always have a bottle of this on the shelf and it's always gone far too quickly, this is easily my favourite rum in terms of cost effectiveness.

Nose and taste are predominantly toffee, caramel, Christmas pudding and similar flavours - all very pungent and long lasting due to the higher ABV of 57% (which is always great with rum).

If you haven't tried this yet you should seek it out immediately - a fine example of navy rum and Guyanese rum, using Demerara.