Plantation XO 20th Anniversary

Got this off some internet list of best rums.... Saw it in Total Wine on sale and I was pleasantly surprised, I like the sweet finish. Smooth. I think this will be my got to sipper!

Plantation XO 20th Anniversary. Offered @ $60-70 CAD.

The robe is light amber, clean legs/tears forming post swirling. 8/10

The nose is sweet, brown sugar, toffee, caramel, buttery with a hint of fruits and citrus in the background. 17/20

The palate is buttery smooth, sweet, caramel, molasses, toffee, tons of fruity flavors, banana, orange peel, citrus and cinnamon tannin all present and very noticeable, followed by a very light new oak cask ending. Definitely taste the Cognac casks it was finished in, beautifully crafted. 36/40

The afterburn is mellow and again buttery smooth, some sweetness still present in the throat, tingling cinnamon and sweet fruits (banana with a tad of orange) still very present in the back of the mouth. 25/30

Total score combined 86/100

Detailed score:

Robe & Colour out of 10/100: 8
Nose & Aromas out of 20/100: 17
Palate & Mouthfeel out of 40/100: 36
Afterburn & Finish out of 30/100: 25

Everybody can sip this, but for this price bracket I expect something more than just being smooth and kind of one-dimensionally pleasant. On the nose it is muted when compared to Foursquare sixty six (which is for the same money). When tasted, well, a bit of citrus fruits and coconut here, chocolate and vanilla there, demerara sugar, but where did all the aged rums go? Where is oak? Where is the aftertaste? The aftertaste is watery sugar, really disapointing, especially when compared to the Foursquare Sixty Six. Maybe all the added sugar - which is 30g/l - somehow masked the old rum composites here, because to my taste buds this is an eqivalent of Doorly 5 year, laced with sugar. Good only for rum novices and fans of sweetened rums.

Plantation XO is a smooth, sweet and silky rum, served in an excellent bottle. Balanced taste, full of fruit, vanilla and caramel, with little burn but lots of after taste. I would definitely have a place for it on my shelf, but it is just a little too expensive for me.

Was giving this rum as a gift for my wedding and is one of my favorites

After much hype, I finally acquired a bottle to pit against my other sweet sippers from Venezuela and Guyana. This Barbados meets France base skips the more typical caramel and molasses flavors in favor of a lighter, more tropical take—bananas, chocolate, vanilla, and coconut. The mouth feel is lovely—oily, yet somehow light-bodied as well. This stuff is just pleasant from start to finish—an enticing fruity nose, a decadent sweet palette, and a subtle lingering burn that encourages you to immediately do it all over again. My favorite, crave-worthy sipper to date.

Byl to úplně první prémiový rum, který jsem ochutnal. A musím říct, že to nebyla pro naprostého začátečníka úplně správná volba. Jedná se v chuti a vůni o dost specifický rum. Zarazila mě výrazná chuť a vůně sušenek alias kokosu.Je to velmi dobrý rum v přenádherné láhvy, která ozdobí jakoukoliv poličku. Nováčkům bych ale doporučil spíše sladší Diplomatico reserve.

This rum is just sweet enough with a straight ahead and complex flavor and aroma. I find myself
Craving this rum over all others though sometimes it can be a little overly sweet straight up. The oak and vanilla aromas really bring something special to this rum and the beautiful bottle takes the experience to the next level. Love it.

Plantation has a few really good bottles, but in my opinion this isn't one of them. As is the Plantation way, they have taken a rum, this time from Barbados, and added a lot of sugar. At the $40-$50 price, there are just far better rums ... Especially Barbados rums.

In this crazy world of rum it is easy to be misguided by the number printed on some of these bottles, so let this be said. This rum is not 20 years old, but that doesn´t mean that it is bad.

Nose: Caramel, vanilla and a hint of fried bananas
Taste: Thick and sweet with caramel, vanilla and a hint of orange peel. Short and thin aftertaste
Overall: This rum is on the sweeter side, but it still holds up well against other rums in that category. It fills the mouth, but leaves soon after swallowing, which hurts the rating a bit