Blackwell Black Gold Special Reserve

At first I passed this off as another celebrity-endorsed liquor, not knowing much about Chris Blackwell. But reading more about him and his heritage, I gave it a chance. And I’m pretty impressed! It’s a solid black pot rum. Decent neat, and made for a real nice Dark-n-Stormy.

A lot of funky esters on this one. Probably a real back to early Jamaican imports to the US. A fun cocktail recipe. Try a .5 oz in a fogcutter

Beautiful bottle design. I experienced this rum as very mild and sweet with nozing flavors of chocolate, coffee and cane. These notes are also present at the palate and short to midsize finish. This rum is a good bargain (at its price) in comparison to many other medium-rated rums.

As soon as I tasted it, I told the Mrs.... Appleton Estates. I paid $14.99 and for that price, I'd say it's a good value. Cool label. Sipped it over ice, as is my usual custom. Washed it down with a Red Stripe. I think it would be a good mix with some Creole and some roots reggae.

I don't like sweet rums, but the exception to that rule for me is black rum. I like the flavor of a rum that has a bitter tastes that come from a well made blackstrap rum that is light on the tails tastes like it uses true caramelized molasses rather than caramelized sugar.

Bottle: It is interesting and I guess the price range dictated the style to some degree.
Color: Deep amber, dark red-brown.
Bottle Aroma: Sweet with hints of a spiced rum.
Glass Aroma: Very similar to the bottle, but with oak.
Taste: This rum is never hot but has enough heat to be not dull, it isn't just a black rum, it really has hints of being a spiced rum as well with flavors I would associate with Xmas cookies.

When Blackwell first entered the US market the price versus the taste was unbelievable. It has since gone up a few dollars but remains a very good value. If this was planned, it was an excellent sales and marketing strategy for what is a very solid black rum. I use this rum to mix in all sorts of drinks with the favorite being Dark-n-Stormy where a ginger bitter is used with seltzer water. The lack of a overly sweet ginger beer while relying on the sweetness of Blackwell rum means this is a extremely pleasant evolution on a traditional drink and it becomes very pleasant indoors or in the summer heat.

Dette er en rom som fint kan drikkes ren med is. eller blandes i drink. lukter melasse går litt over i svak krydder smak på slutten.

Tenhle rum jsem si poridil pred Vanocemi do vaječňáku. Byl vylbornej. Od te doby si tenhle rum kupuju i na vychutnavani. Sussi chut, ostrejsi vune, ale vylozene mi sedne. Tmava cokolada, ovoce, orechy...to vsechno tam jde najit.

I think this is a suitable rum for some mixed drinks and punch. I would recommend trying it.

Another one in the rumvent calendar. Tasty with a mixer, as so many of them are

It reminded me of a sweeter, less leathery and smokey Havana Club 7. Has a nice laid back sweetness to it - raisin-like with brown sugar and molasses - and a warmth without much alcohol kick (thought here is more on the nose). I am not particularly into Jamaican rums, preferring others, but this is pleasant. It costs around about £20 which is about the right price for it.