Bumbu Original

A complicated as this rum sounds as described on the Bumbu website it's hard to categorize it as either an aged rum or a spiced rum.

So I call it both.

According to their website: "Our rum is distilled using two continuous stills and aged up to 15 years in grade-A, once-used Kentucky bourbon barrels. The yeast used during fermentation is a distillery secret that dates back as far as 1840, when some of our original iron pot stills were cast."

They also use sugarcane originating from several countries: Barbados, Belize, Brazil, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guyana, and Honduras.

The rum is distilled in Barbados which is my favorite country of origin for rum (Martinique being the others).

BTW, this rum is in one of the coolest rum bottles I've ever seen. Looks like something Hollywood would come up with for a pirate movie. I uploaded a photo I took.

The color in the snifter is a bright amber. It shows excellent legs as I swirl it around my snifter. A wonderful aroma comes from this rum...reminds me of baking vanilla cake from scratch. At 35% ABV (70 proof) it's a little less potent than typical rums.

The flavor is very complex due mainly to the spices used. Self-described as "all-natural native spices and no artificial colors or flavors". There is a noticeable sweetness but I do not know if it has been sugared or if some of the flavoring brings the sweetness naturally. Either way the sweetness is not overpowering. Instead it adds to the overall experience. My palate is not very educated on detecting subtle flavors however vanilla seems to be one of the predominate ones. It's even noticeable in the aroma. Again, not overpowering. There seems to be some pepperiness and a bit of oak tannin as well. The tannin bitterness is rather mild. I also seem to detect coconut and fruit flavors (mango???). Very complex. And smooth.

Definitely qualifies as a sipping rum especially in a beach chair at the beach. Or a lake. Or a river. Or a pond. Or a puddle of water. Doesn't matter. Even if you're nowhere near a beach this rum will take you there.

I like this rum. A lot.

What I like most when I look at my bottles is when I can call for a particular drink, such as I want a "bumbu and coke". Meaning that the rum itself has such a distinct flavor I can discern it from the others. That's what a truly good rum should be able to do. This rum is deep complicated and rich in a flavor not like anything I have had before kind of flavor either. Something like a banana-cinnamon. Now the only reason keeping me back from 10/10 is the fact it isn't 80 proof. It's 70 proof. Which makes it cheating a little compared to the other rums so I knock a point off. Extremely smooth. This could probably be used as a contact solution no problem, it's just that smooth. Extremely high value for price. Would recommend in any drinking combination.

Being a bit new to the rum world and after trying the mainstream brands , I want to try something different . What drew me to this was the bottle . Reminds me of pirates ( and I love anything pirate) . I like the color almost whiskey like , the nose gave me hints of vanilla and bananas foster. The taste was about the same with a hint of caramel , I don't think you can add enough O's in the word smooooooth . If you can find this rum I highly recommend it

Surely worth tasting, interesting experience. Havent drank rum similar to this one. Bananas and vanilla in nose. In mouth very very smooth, little sugar and bananas again. In aftertaste comes up strange pungency which is different to what i experienced so far and I cant quite describe it, it felt almost chemical to me. Very nice bottle, one of the coolest I ve seen. Interesting dynamism in taste, but I really didnt like the aftertaste, very unpleasant to me. Before the aftertaste came up I had 8/10 in my mind.

Never tasted something like this. If you like a sweet rum, you won't be disappointed with this one. For me it was a bit too sweet.
The most interesting part was the nose and taste of bananas. Or maybe better: pisang goreng (fried banana). At the very first sip I thought I tasted something artificial at the end (not as heavy as Don Papa though), but after a few sips more it was gone. It's a very smooth rum that can be sipped easily.
It comes in a bottle that will remind you of pirates immediately. Very nicely done!
Even though it's too sweet for me, I'll probably get a new one when this one's finished. Sometimes a sweet tooth is needed....

Silne aroma pecenych/zralych bananu. Netradicni ale prijemny rumovy zazitek. Rozhodne stoji za to zkusit.

I was surprisef when i saw 15y aged. I honestly don't taste the age tha much. If you compare it to other 15y old standard (ie ED15) it misses complexity, but !!! The taste is amasing good. I wasn't expecting it. Full of fruty notes on a base of vanila. Perfect for a summer, or after a desert. Less vanila then a dzama, more balanced, smooth sweet rhum. This was one of the 3 bottles i bought at the last rumfest. I just think the 15y complexity is missing (5/10), but as a spiced rum it's (9/10) so i give it a solid 7

This rum has a wonderful nose. Super smooth, slightly sweet with hints if caramel and vanilla. I love it so far

Reviewing rum was never so easy and straightforward. This is just purely combination of bananas and toffee. This goes for taste and also for smell. It really feels like bananas and toffee are the only two ingredience in this rum. Rum also feels very heavy so I am recomendiong only small sips, possibly as a dessert. Definitely not for all night drinking.

Had two drinks of this, one straight up, one mixed with Coke.
Couldn't get past the sickly sweet smell of bananas and toffee in either case.
Some may like it, far too sweet for my palate....rum should taste like rum, not a banana dessert