Bumbu XO

A smooth and more traditional take on rum. You can taste the spirit here, which I do prefer. People who don't drink much will find a burn and want to mix, but surprisingly many will enjoy its subtle aroma.

I love the bottle! It is a conversation piece no question. The rum is decent. A tad too much heat for my liking. But still tasty and worth a try. Dried fruit and Caramel notes.

As many others have already noted, this is very different from regular Bumbu: it’s quite dry and has none of the cloying qualities that seem to polarize many away from the original. Instead this is quite light and very smooth. The problem for me is that I don’t detect heaps of complexity, either. The nose reveals light spice, integrated, old wood, and something like nougat and roasted nuts. But the nose is not generous and I found those notes needed to be coaxed from the Glencairn. The palate has something that reminds me of spiced orange, Bosc pear, and molasses before moving off into a medium length finish. It’s a good sipper but personally, I’m missing a “wow!” factor, too. A quality rum, for sure, but just not reaching the higher scores, imo...

Nez boisé et vanillé
En bouche, épices et zeste d'orange
Manque un peu de finesse
Mieux fait que la version originale

It is a blend of rums up to 18 years old originating in Panama. Ageing took place first in bourbon barrels and then after sherry.

Bottle: Black opaque with a large cork. The shape and size is the same as his little brother Bumbu Original.

Color: Dark amber

Aroma: The aroma is vanilla, sherry, ripe to overripe fruit (especially orange) and a lot of ripe grapes. At the end, there are tones of burnt or stale wood. There is no banana or pear smell at all like the Original version. The smell is very similar to Emperor Sherry Finish rum.

Taste: Slightly sweet at first, but then turns bitter. Even though he has "only" 40% ABV, it is quite burning on the tongue. The taste is vanilla, caramel, coffee and the peel of overripe to slightly rotting orange. At the end, you can smell either stale or burnt wood again. The aftertaste is medium to long.

The taste of this rum is quite interesting. It is not a sweet rum and it has nothing in common with Bumbu Original. Overall, I was surprised that rum of this age is so little fine.

Overall rating: 7.5 out of 10

Much better than other offerings from Bumbu. Good sipper.

Update this is a different Bumbo and is actually really good enjoying it neat and it’s real added rum. Dark brown with depth mild sweetness. Way better than the original Bumbu desert beverage.

To be honest I bought this rum because the bottle is pirates of the carribean like. To my surprise the liquid is quite tasty. At my first try I was a little bit disappointed. Then I took another type of glass with a long neck (a Champagne glass), where I let the rum breathe for a few minutes. With this trick, the smell and the taste improved from a 5 to 7 stars rum. Nice sweet flavours, vanilla a.s.o stays long in the mouth.

The Bumbu is definitely a rum more then the original which is nice
It’s smooth with a semi- sweetness to it
I gave it a 7 but might come back to adjust after another tasting
Just not sure 🤔 if it’s an actual 7 or maybe a 6
Much better then the sickening sweetness of the original so that’s a start

Really different than Bumbu original, way more deep, balanced and raw. A little lack of personality for me, with flavours not too pronounced. But pleasant to drink anyway.