Don Q Vermouth Cask

Dark golden, burnt caramel nose, muscovado, burnt sugar, cinder toffee

Already in aroma you can smell the Vermouth. Taste is smooth and again full of vermouth. Aftertaste is longer bittersweet. Interesting experiment but for me too much vermuth, covering almost everything else.

Finally opened this bottle. I tried the double cask sherry a few days back and it was very good. This Don Q Vermouth is super smooth and light. The aroma is herbal and the finish is sweet and short. A very surprising drink from Don Q.

There is a definite vermouth flavor, but with a bit of sweetness during the after-burn. Not as nice when mixed.

Happy National Rum Day

I was looking forward to trying this finished rum, and I found a rum very different from most finished rums.

Don Q Double Aged Vermouth Cask Finish rum is aged for 5 to 8 years in white oak barrels, finished for 4 to 6 weeks in 600 liter Italian vermouth oak casks and then bottled at 40%. The rum is a beautiful clean light burnt sienna color, and appears thin in the glass.

Things get strange when I start to nose this rum. Fresh out of the bottle, there was a bit of an ethanol burn. After sitting, the ethanol faded and the scent of the Vermouth was dominant. There was a hint of traditional rum highlights like coconut and vanilla, but they struggle to stand out because of the scent of dry white wine.

The palette is sharp and dry, and dominated by the flavors of dry white wine.
The surprisingly strong Vermouth scent and flavor is strange given the short time of secondary aging. I'd believe you if you told me that the Vermouth was blended into the rum.

The finish is short to medium and also mimics the mouth feel of a dry white wine.

I'll give this rum another try, but I'm disappointed.

$50 - Was purchased at the Duty Free Shop in San Juan Airport. Nice dark amber color. Pleasant nose with a hint of sweetness. Upon tasting, the flavor is not harsh and rather smooth. Quite smooth with a very nice finish.