Afrohead XO 15-Year

I was sad to learn that this incredible rum had been discontinued. If you find a bottle, horde it like treasure!

The rum is elegant and emblematic of the best of column stilled rums - smooth with notes of char and spice.

Despite the attestation of Toby Tyler (master blender) that there is no added sugar, this had a vanilla sweetness that reminded me of Zaya. For something of this age, I would have expected more oak... it's there, but not the kind of smokiness I'd like. I know this is aged in bourbon barrels, but overall, it was way smoother than I expected. Which would be a good thing for almost anyone, so I do recommend this as a sipping rum, but I think I prefer styles with more character.

Very floral to both the nose and tongue with a strong bite at the end. A very interesting taste but not to my liking...felt there was not a lot of body for an aged rum. It was nice to try but will not be a stocker.

I recently discovered this rum in the Bahamas.

I was skeptical. I understand and appreciate the cultural and ethic significance of the bottle but at first glance I found it bizarre and not typical of a high quality rum. But, this is a high quality rum.

The nose is floral and maple. Its very balanced, a little on the spicy side but still has a nice strong sweetness. It really has a bit of everything going on which I found very unique. The finish is smooth with an added oak and citrus note.

Anything less than a 9 for this rum is ridiculous... This is a must try.

This is a sipper.

Incredibly smooth and so sippable either on the rocks or straight up. This rum is always my go-to rum when friends come over. And knowing the history of how it's made, I have gotten my whiskey drinking friends to really appreciate a good rum.

VERY deep and complex aroma, oaky, delicious. Taste is very complex, deep, bold, vanilla, slight alcohol, smooth. Tastes very similar to El Dorado 21 to me, except more bold and dry. 90+

A little bit of burn, but in a good way. Following that is a ton of flavor, including botanicals and oak.

Smooth and tasty. The usual flavors you’d expect are all here. Good rum but nothing special.

This is a very nice tasting rum.

Vanilla, spice, toffee, oak, and bourbon. A bit strong at 43%abv, but I find the taste good enough for that strength (I only like stronger rums if they're really good).

so, where is Afrohead supposed to originate? Mine is from Trinidad, aged 15 years in oak casks. The label says to expect flavor of vanilla and caramel. To me, this is an OK rum, but not really up to my expectations. Perhaps it will have a unique charm to some folks, but not for a regular in my glass. Life is too short, and there are a lot of rums to try.