Bumbu Original

More of a sweet liquer than a rum. Too much banana, toi sweet and not enough depth or complexicity.

Good mixer, it has its place. Just not good for sipping unless you like loads of sweet

First of all anything under 80 proof should not even qualify as rum. Then to replace the missing alcohol with sugar water and banana flavouring makes it a liqueur at best. Yes, they also have an XO version at 40% but it is still way too sweet. This is really just a marketing afterthought because they buy it from a completely different distillery and just slap their name on it. I cannot believe some of the high ratings as no serious appreciator of rum would ever consider this stuff good. As a side story I recently witnessed a top-knot in a suit order this in a bar with a full coke mix. I see dialysis in his future.

I’m indebted to Bumbu for re-igniting my interest in rum. Last year when I tried it I thought it was one of the very best rums I’d ever tried. Having sampled a few more since, I can see the criticism levied against it: too sweet, too much vanilla, more like a liqueur, etc. Yes, those are fair critiques but is that a complete portrait? Having not touched it in a year, I tried it again today and here’s how I see it. The nose has a nice mix of oak, vanilla and toasted coconut. It’s not complex but is certainly far from repugnant. The palate is rather simple too, with sweet vanilla but also something like a maraschino note or almond extract. Yes, it’s sweet, but is it as absolutely unpalatable as some suggest? No! In fact I like this better than Captain Morgan Private Stock, with which it shares some similarity with in terms of overall profile. Both are “dessert” rums, if one had to suggest a name for the category. I think this would be a good rum to serve guests who were not used to rum. The sweetness would be appealing, just as it was for me a year ago. It’s easy to simply “copy cat” criticism here, but while I see this rum’s limitations, I don’t really think it’s as bad as some suggest. De gustibus non disputandum est - there is no disputing taste! Some will like, some won’t. I think it’s ok - neither great but not horrible, either.

If you like your rum to taste like syrup with banana flavouring then this is for you, otherwise I'd stay away! I ended up using mine to soak rasins for baking with! Far too sweet and artificially flavoured for me!

Bumbu is the best selling "premium" rum in the liquor store I work at, and for good reason. It's sweet but not artificial, and the aromas of banana are welcoming, reminiscent of time spent on a beach somewhere. This is an extremely approachable rum for those looking to expand their palate, so long as you're looking for a lighter in flavour, and more tropica feeling rum.

Was disappointed by this, should Be marked up as a spiced rum

This rum is a joke, and the joke is on everyone who paid good money for it. A mockery of a rum in a laughable bottle, my daughter's bubblegum has got a more solid and convincing banana taste. Crap, crap, crap in a glass. Faaar too sweet, fake chemical taste, zero complexity, just horrible. Considering its priced way above, say a 5 yo Barbados plantation just adds insult to injury. Never again!

I don't know what this is, but it isn't rum. It's a sugary liqueur filled with artificial flavours. Gross. It's a no from me.

A bit sweet, but man, I would like to drink this rhum again.