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WOW! For the price, the rum is worth every penny! The gift box is a plus but the juice is undeniably one of the best aged rums in the market. Comparable to Don Ponchos 30 yr. My fav from SelvaRey, although I love all of them.
Posted
over 2 years ago
Iโve enjoyed this rum so far, but not enough to justify the cost for another bottle. There are other rums I would rather spend my time hunting and paying for. That being said, this is a very pleasant sipper. Very smooth and mild. I found the nose to be slightly sweet with banana, toffee, vanilla, and creme brรปlรฉe (I had my wife verify in case I was losing my mind on that last one). The initial taste is very mild with chocolate, maybe a hint of nutmeg, and bread. The finish was oak, tobacco, dark chocolate and coffee.
Bought this as I was leaving Memphis as a vacation drink for a cabin I rented in the appalachian mountains. It was definitely one of the better rums I've had in my time. I drank it neat and with ice. Finished the bottle within the week, as it's an easy sipper. You won't be disappointed.
This is such a delicious rum and I canโt get enough of it. If I could afford it this is one I would drink all day, I mean everyday. ๐ฌ. I know it is a more expensive rum but this one is worth it. Do yourself a favor, spend the money and enjoy this rum.
Posted
6 months ago
This is the first of the Selvarey lineup that I have tried and I regret not trying it sooner! Itโs absolutely delicious, and the balance of sweet/dry is perfectly on point.
Finally, a special bottle worthy of the slick marketing, price and hype.
It is smooth without the sugar of other premium rum. Bourbon guys would like this, but I would not call it a bourbon drinkers rum. It is one of the finest expressions of what rum should be. It is not demerara style, which I consider intensely sweet, cloying and so rich that it can hurt your stomach. I love those too, but this is not that. This is it's own thing.
I don't plan on mixing this, but if I did mix, it would be with a light juice flavor or mix that will not cover the delicate and smooth flavors.
This is love.
Posted
11 months ago
I'm new to rum, so I'm not sure what constitutes a 10, but this came close. Its sweet, but not overly, and has a velvety mouthfeel that I've only found similar in Opthimus 25. But, I've only tried a couple dozen rums, so take that into account as well. Like Paul B, I have trouble describing the flavor in words (and to be honest when I read a review that lists 8 or 10 different flavors that were supposedly perceived, I tend to not believe it anyway) so I'll have to do my best without comparing it to other flavors.
The richness of flavors and feel on the palate is what sets this apart from all the other rums I've tried, but I have to say that Opthimus 25 came very close for a lot less money. At $150 vs. $90 I'd probably say that dollar for dollar I find the Opthimus to be a better value, but the SelvaRey was overall the better rum.
Another thing Paul B. had mentioned was the bottle shape minimizing the effect of oxidation due to the surface area increasing at a slower rate as the contents are consumed. It seemed to me that my bottle of Opthimus 25 got a little bit richer as it got older, but the SelvaRey didn't, and it may have even lost a little richness. Not sure how to quantify that, but I had both bottles open over a similar time and that's the way it seemed to progress to me. It might have to do with the fact that there's a lot of added sugar in the Opthimus, IDK.
Bottom line for me, I bought another bottle of Opthimus 25, and this will likely be the only purchase of SelvaRey for me. I switched to rum from whisky because I was tired of paying over $100 to get anything decent, so I'm trying to avoid going over $100 for a bottle of rum for now unless something totally knocks my socks off. SelvaRey was a very fine bottle of rum, but wasn't substantially better than the Opthimus to justify the extra $60 in my mind, and its harder to find than Opthimus as well.
Posted
over 1 year ago
Tested neat in chilled glass. 80 proof
Aroma in glass was milder than I expected, more golden than aged. Aftertaste was not dark aged rum, and was followed by a smooth golden finish and slight alcohol bite. Selvarey white is a 10 rated sipper (in my opinion), and the Owner's Reserve was not at the exceptional level I expected after tasting the white. The 18YO Don Pancho is a better choice at $95 including tax, compared to $160 for this. This is a good choice for those who prefer a premium golden rum sipper. Unique bottle design towers over most all the other rums on my shelves.
Posted
2 years ago
Nice aroma, it settles well on ice and it goes down smooth and with ease. This is a master pice.
Posted
over 2 years ago
Very smooth and tasteful. Not dry and a little on the sweet side.
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When this rum first appeared on the market more than a year ago, I came close to driving about 400 miles to pick up my bottle in Texas. Instead I waited until it came close to me. It can now be found at 3 Total Wine stores fairly close to me, and I bought the only bottle from the closest store just as they opened this morning. And lucky me saw that it was priced only one penny below my $150 limit per bottle.
What is the appeal for me in this rum? One word, Don Pancho. Ask me who makes the best rum in the Caribbean and I will answer Don Pancho without hesitation. This line of Selvarey rums is partially owned by pop star Bruno Mars. His team took two years searching for the perfect rum that they could bottle and be proud to put their brand name upon. Heck, had he asked me, I could have saved him two years by telling him to go to Panama and meet up with Don Pancho. That Maestro Ronero is a living legend and his story is too long for this review.
The back of the gift box states, "From the owner's private collection". Gift boxes are always excuses to jack up the price. I am now wondering if Bruno told Don Pancho what he wanted in this 15-25 year blend or that he just picked from Don Pancho's best rums. I am sure that Bruno has a few casks of this one.
So what do I think of this one? It is now good enough for me to rank it as my overall best rum tried in almost five years. I seriously doubt that I will find another rum that I like better! Don't ask me about the tasting notes, since I am terrible with those. It is rich and super smooth with no after burn. Absolute perfection!!!
The shape of the bottle has finally dawned on me that it is not just for looks. Most rums will have a large surface area exposed to air after the first pour. Not this one. As one pours some every now and then, the surface area gradually gets larger. By the time one gets near the bottom of this bottle, the surface area is still smaller than those of most other bottles. This is a brilliant design that minimizes the deterioration of taste, even though this one is too tall to fit on my regular shelf.