Carta Vieja Golden Cask 18-Year

After trying the three 15 year old Abuelo double aged rums my bartender in Panama wanted my opinion on Carta Viera. Beautiful cut glass bottle I was expecting gold heavenly elixir. This was a fine stand alone rum but did not stand up the the three Abuelo 15 year double aged. Lighter gold color mild alcohol scent, pleasing but not the bomb. Worth trying just not enough depth.

This Will look awesome on your rum shelf. Unfortunately the content is nothing out of the ordinary. A dry rum with AOK AS the dominating flavour - a flavour which doesn't evolve much or last very long.

I returned to a favorite liquor store to stock up on more of the Carta Vieja 8 Anos rum. It is an almost perfect balance of wood and natural sweetness, with a low cost to boot. So I plunked down $50 US for this bottle, knowing very well that it is an 18 Year Solera rum.

Side by side in Glencairn glasses, both rums are similar except that this one has more flavors and smooths out the few remaining harsh edges found in the 8 year. As usual, I let each new rum breathe before sipping it to rate it. It came in very high in my overall rankings and deserves my rating of a 9. This was money well spent! I normally hate heavily oaked rums, but this one is well balanced with the tropical fruit flavors, so that one can still tell that they are drinking a fine rum,

It has also edged out my Plantation XO 20th Anniversary in a side by side taste test. No easy feat, but I happen to like the very well represented flavors of wood and leather on this one. The Plantation XO rum has 24 gpl of added sugar and this Carta Vieja Golden Cask has only 7 gpl of added sugar. I am sure that this played a factor into my final judgment.

Update August 10. 2019: I finally found another bottle of this great rum and had several premium empty bottles stashed away to transfer the contents to if needed. To my pleasant surprise, the cork has been redesigned from the extremely tight fitting one to almost perfect. This means that the top of the bottle now has much less chance of breaking when corking it back up. Whatever, I am thankful for the improvement in cork design and this rum still tastes great!

Update February 18. 2021: My latest bottle tastes way too much like oak so I have no choice except to lower my rating from an 8 to a 7

Fruity whisky masking itself as rum. For whisky lovers out there.

I had expectations being that it's an 18 year blend but alas, this fell hard off the cliff.. it feels like it's trying to be something else but failing at that. In the 18 range I'm expecting different flavors or lack there of with body or something to get me excited. Nope this shit taste like smoked leather boots, like old boots at that. It's to much like a rye bourbon mixed with hopes and dreams of being apart of a comic book or a school star jockey.

Una selección fantástica un balance único entre solera y experiencia en boca fuerte en nariz explosión de frutos rojos secos el decanter maravilloso Buen precio

I was expecting more from this rum for the price. It still is quite good rum. I do not understand some of the low ratings but to each his own I guess. Sure, if you were expecting a typical sweeter Panamanian rum you're going to be disappointed but let's look at it for what it is, not what we wish it to be.

It is a drier rum than typical Panamanian rum but not too dry. Although the oakiness is quite predominate giving it somewhat of a bite, there still is some sweetness with hints of vanilla and caramel. For those who like bourbon, this might be a good rum for them since this rum does have similarities to bourbon. Personally I rather use it in Coke Zero. I do believe this would be an excellent rum in various mixed drinks especially fruit-based and coffee-based drinks.

Unlike sweet and smooth brethren from Panama this rum is woodier and has more of a bite.

It’s sippable but I like to make rum Old Fashioneds with it. This plus a dark agricole and a tiny but of honey, one dash Ango. Because I see that as making the best use of the whisky taste.
Straight, I get sweet and maybe chocolate, both within the right amounts. Very clean , just a little heat, not much lingering flavors.
Bought a bottle duty free in Panama