Origenes Don Pancho Reserva 8-Year

These bottles of rum are always placed on the shelves next to other tall bottles of Panamanian rum called Debonaire, so it has been easy for me to overlook for so long. However, after doing some research, I read about the lengthy career of Master Blender Don Pancho who was behind the best Cuban rums from Havana Club. He must have provided the ruling party with some of the finest rum while keeping the masses happy with the cheap rums, and then somehow moved to Panama in the early nineties.

What a truly beautiful bottle this is and in an art-deco style. It is crystal clear to show off the beautiful dark amber color of what is inside. It is aged for eight years in American white oak barrels. They state for tasting notes candied dates, figs, dried plums, and leather, but I never agree with stated ones that seldom have anything to do with the true origins of a spirit. It needs to breathe for at least thirty minutes to remove the mild alcohol vapors, then the palate is greeted by oak, vanilla, and mild sweetness. I would call this one as a semi-dry rum with very little burn going down. This is a really fine authentic Cuban style rum that is not complex enough to compete with it's older siblings, but can still be enjoyed as a sipping rum. At only $32 and readily available where I live, I would have no problems adding ice or using it to make authentic Cuban Daiquiri's or Cuba Libres. I am so glad that I pulled this jewel out from it's hiding place on the shelf of the liquor store.

Light in color. Let it breathe a few minutes. Moy bueno.

Nice clear golden amber rum with underwhelming aroma. Nice layered sweet but not too sweet taste. Aftertaste is a short. For me it is a good solid rum and not something I would waste as a mixer but for significantly less $$$ I prefer Plantation 5 year Barbados rum or The Real McCoy 5 year. I think it is a fine rum for sure and I only thing I can really knock about it is that around $40 i think it is over priced

Tasted at Laka Lono. Rich gold/amber pour. Delightful brown sugar and butterscotch aroma. Mild palate. Less flavor than the aroma would suggest. Honey, acorns and a slightly oxidized cardboard finish.

Aroma - very vanilla. My initial impression was that this was flavorful but too hot - yet as it finished I realized the flavor is just really really nice. I'm tasting caramel along with the vanilla. Someone will probably disagree 😂 but I know I would enjoy this w Coca Cola on pebble ice

A great looking bottle holds a very nice rum. Not a sipper, it burns on the tongue, but has a nice nose with several scents coming to the top.

Smooths our when mixed with vanilla, woods, just a hint of caramel making this a very nice entry level rum. Coke, ginger ale, 7-up all mix well with this making it a staple of your bar.

Looking forward to blending with this rum in the future; think it will add to several of my cocktails.

A decent nose of medium heavy wood, caramel and dried fruits like dates and figs. The alcohol is also apparent, without becoming too much. On the medium bodied palette, I get the same notes my nose picked up. You feel that the rum "only" aged for 8 years, but in this case it actually works well, as the slightly rough edges ratains a freshness, and keeps the expirience from beeing bland. Good value, I enjoy it very much. (boderline 8)

Guter Rum für den Einstieg , nicht zu Süß.

Good rum to start with, not too sweet.

Sipped neat
80 proof
Sweet fruit nose
Sugar cane, fruit on palate
No ethanol bite
No empty glass after-aroma
Not much wrong with this one, slightly sweet

This is a good rum for sweet rum lovers. Maestro did a good job. Everything is very well balanced.
Sweetness is in balance with spice, nothing dominates. It's still a little bit young and not very intensive at 40%. You get a warm burn at the finish.

I paid just 28.5€ for a bottle. This is cheap, if you see this bottles, buy one.

First flavor is the white oak in the nose followed by vanilla and honey sweetnes. This suggests a younger sweetened rum.
The nose is sweet. The taste starts also the same, but at the end it became dark with burned sugar (this is a nice transformation).
You can keep this rum easily very long in your mouth and and enjoy the flavors.
If you are new to the rum world, start with this one.

Smell: honeysweetness, white oak **, vanilla **, metal notes *, dry fruits, barrel
Taste, initial: vanilla, honey sweetness, white oak
Middle: apricot (not sure), sugar cane, oak
Finish: oak/earth, burnt sugar, spice

Sweetness: 3/5
Spice: 2/5
Fruits: 3/5
Mildness: 4/5
Value (28€): 4/5