Ron Esclavo XO Cask

The rum has a nice taste and a full body, but I feel that it is all attributed to the huge amount of sugar. Due to the sweetnes, the rum comes off as somewhat cheap (which it isn't) and generic. Thia makes it hard (for me) to distinguish any craftmanship, there is only sugar, and alcohol (with a strong burn!).
Nevertheless, if you like your rum sweet, it's a great choice. Although I also prefer a much lower alcohol percentage, I feel the two extremes complement each other nicely (but it is still very sweet).

Tento kousek je extrém, jeho 65% dokáže vystřelit z kecek a přitom je tak jemný, velice aromatický, závěr je nekonečně dlouhý a hřejivý. A ta hliněná láhev je dokonalá, jen podtrhuje kvality a odkaz na otroctví. Je dokonale silný, ale přitom jemný rum.

Let's start from the beginning. The color is beautiful mahogany, catches your eye. I smell caramel and cherry. For some reason the taste also reminded me of cherries. Not too sweet at all. First it slams your mouth with a barrel and then burns it all to the ground. Your mouth goes crazy as if you just ate a ghost pepper, but it quickly gets softer and the tastes just spread through your mouth. It gets a little easier with every sip. But then you put it on the shelf and when you take it out again - BOOM! I love this rum.

Ce rhum est super bon, et le degré de 64 ne se sent pas du tout. C est du Oliver Oliver d exception. J adore le goût de cette société...
Je préfère chez eux le quorhum 30 ans ou l Opthimus 25 whisky finish, mais celui là est plus puissant, moins sweet. Note 9.1.

Ron Esclavo Cask
Potens rom, med masser af power.

Fantastisk rom, gåshud på hela kroppen, alla smaker på en gång med kraftig käftsmäll! ABSOLUT VÄRLDSKLASS! Men börja inte med denna, utan träna smaklökarna med lite annat a rom först!

Complex nose of cashews and marzipan, so lovely. Rich, full bodied yet balance of sweet, spicy and a dry short/medium finish. Nutmeg, caramel, with the slightly trace of Smokey. 65% yet easily sippable, a few drops of water wasn’t needed and didn’t add more for me. Excellent rum, maybe even dethroned Ambassador for me, need to do a head-to-head tasting.

Very pleasant in the nose with nice notes of cigar smoke, toffee, dried fruit...A real explosion in the mouth due to the high alcohol degree. Many flavours find their way to every corner of the mouth, even between the teeth. It's a unique sensation. You have to take a small sip, else it's too strong and covers all the flavours.

This rum was my biggest surprise. I remember a big disappointment after a first sip. So big that I put aside a whole battle. After several weeks I came back ,poured a small ice cube ,let it breath 10 minutes and then a miracle happened.
The taste is what I expect from rum. Combination of syrup sweetness a high amount of alcohol is in perfect harmony. Finish is long,hot and sweet.

This XO Cask is sadly not in production enymore.
There is a new Ron Esclavo XO Cask, but that one is from another producer.
This one is REALLY nice, with lots of chocolate , vanilla and sweetness to tame the 65% ABV.
Buy one before it´s gone...