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Banks 5-Island rum

Banks 5-Island

United Kingdom | Light

6.5/10
41 ratings
Tasty, but not quite great
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41 Banks 5-Island Ratings

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ElPato 🇳🇴 | 38 ratings
Posted over 4 years ago

Ok. Rating this an 8 is perhaps unfair to a good, single pot still rum with the same rating. But I try to follow a principle where the scale is subdivided into the specific style or category the rum belongs in, and in the category “decently priced, white blended rums” this is my new favourite. My only objection is that filtering brown/golden rum to make it white takes away some of its character, and that is exactly what has been done here. On the other hand, this is only a valid objection when you know what you lose — which I don’t, of course.

Nose: A hint of funky wild yeast; overripe banana and floral cane. Also a hint of boiling rice that remains pleasant — not metallic or chemical.

Palate: An unexpected fruit explosion of banana , pineapple and green apple distinguished with some mint and caramel. There is also a faint taste of fresh oak, quite subdued by filtration I expect.

Aftertaste: At first disappointing but a return of estery fruit and oak is revealed after a few seconds.

This is certainly my new first choice of staple rum for daiquiris, punch and mojitos.

jelmd 🇩🇪 | 17 ratings
Posted over 4 years ago

Hätte nie gedacht, dass ein weißer Rum so gut schmecken kann. Zum Mixen eigentlich schon viel zu schade. Kann man wirklich selbst bei Zimmertemperatur schnabulieren...

Engwild 🇺🇸 | 153 ratings
Posted almost 5 years ago

It's a blanco so it tastes as harsh as it is. Probably a good mixer.

Mo McGurk 🇺🇸 | 250 ratings
Posted almost 5 years ago

A 4.5 on my scale. The Golden Age was a 4.5 to 5. Too much of an afterburn straight. Better mixed, but not getting much flavor one way or another.

Tim 🇨🇦 | 82 ratings
Posted 5 years ago

I’m very fond of this white rum as it brings the hogo it also a wide array of complex rum notes that totally surprised me for a white! Sippable on its own which is kind of crazy, but it’s punchy depth shines in cocktails, though oddly as a daiquiri its a bit underwhelming... requires a complex drink to truly shine

piratejabez 🇺🇸 | 322 ratings
Posted 6 years ago

43% ABV. Pleasant, slightly harsh nose. Hint of Jamaican funk. This follows into the palate. There's also a good amount of brine. Nice and dry. Shortish finish.

Nice balance of harshness and flavor. Tasty enough neat, and excellent for cocktails.

It may be an 8-, but I'm docking it for price (it's very good, but not a very good value) and misleading label. What the heck does that big 5 mean, anyway? (Presumably it's the number of islands/countries represented—though the label only lists 4—but the average consumer would be forgiven for assuming it was an age statement. Buyer beware.) Here's hoping future iterations will be a little stronger, cheaper, or offer more transparency.

7+

Tom 🇺🇸 | 230 ratings
Posted over 6 years ago

This rum is a culmination of rums from 5 Caribbean islands(Trinidad, Jamaica, Guyana, Barbados and Java), hence the name! A smooth and balanced rum that offers attributes, characteristic of each distinct island.
Molasses, tropical fruit, pepper, oak, and some heat on the back end with Jamaican rum being the most pronounced with its pot still technology using black strap molasses.
This makes for a versatile rum that can upgrade your mixed drink as well as let your taste buds receive a nice splash of flavors that can be enjoyed neat.

Alan 🇺🇸 | 89 ratings
Posted almost 7 years ago

The nose is amazing sweet, but the taste is nuanced, delicate and well balanced. It's an ideal mixer for delicate cocktails, where the rum is not being overwhelmed with tons of citrus. The higher price ensures I only use it to its best advantage.

Matthew Brown 🇺🇸 | 27 ratings
Posted 7 years ago

A fine white blended rum. Decent though imperfect daiquiri rum, it shows its fullness guyana-ness at the end which makes for a weird mouthfeel with the lingering acid from lime. Not grassy enough for a ti, but yet pleasant all the same. Good for blended recipes that ask for 1 oz Jamaican, 1 oz cuban. My favorite use for it is 2 oz in a jet pilot with another .5 oz of lemon hart 151.

Falcon91Wolvrn03 (PREMIUM) 🇺🇸 | 563 ratings
Posted 7 years ago

I am really impressed with Banks rums. They offer amazing flavor for the money.

The 5-Island light rum is no exception. Only $32.99 at K&L Wines (2017 price). Much more sophisticated than any other light rum I've tried. To me this comes closer to an aged rum than a light rum. I really like it straight, even at 43%abv.

Smells and tastes of sugarcane, spice, and a very light citrus (probably lime). Has a complexity I've never experienced in a light rum.

A great light rum; in fact it's my new favorite light rum.




Brand Details

Name: 5-Island
Type: Banks
Raw Material: Unknown
Process: Unknown
Distillation: Unknown
Women Led Rum: No

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