TommyVinegar

Dutch writer living in Belgium with a passion for rum. Visited several distilleries during my travels in Central- and South-America and the Carribean. Staunch supporter of the Flor de Cana brand. Very critical of rums with lots of added sugar, mostly because they do not suit my palate.

Cabinet List

Brand

Review

Rating

Date

Likes

Flor de Caña Centenario 21 15-year

An olympic achievement Well... I am surprised this site rates the new 25 FdC higher than this one. To me the 25 is great and a logical step up from the 18 within FdC's regul

10

03/26/2016

1

Flor de Caña 25-year

A few dollars away from perfection Im inclined to rate the Flor 25 as a 10, but I too feel its overpriced at well over a 100 euro's. The packaging and bottle are really swanky though. Y

9

10/21/2015

9

Rum Nation Panama 21-year

will buy this Tasted this following a meal in a Peruvian restaurant in Belgium, together with the Millonario XO and the Matsulem 23. Now, besides eating some well s

9

09/02/2016

0

Millonario XO

a step up! Tasted this following a meal in a Peruvian restaurant in Belgium, together with the Rum Nation Panama 23yr. and the Matsulem 23. Now, besides eating s

9

09/02/2016

0

Saint James Quintessence 6-year

French, fresh and fantastic My heart will weep when this bottle is gone. My bottle is currently half full (or half empty, depending on your outlook on life). Seeing as it retails

9

03/28/2016

4

Mezan 2005 Guyana

Funky, delightfully dirty drink Straight from the famed old Port Mourant double wooden pot still at the Diamond distillery in Guyana. It's bottled at 40% - which some demerara cask s

9

05/13/2016

3

Diplomatico Ambassador Selection

Solidly Swanky Too expensive to buy (really any rum at this price is overpriced) but lovely to be gifted. Very swanky packaging, faux leather box, heavy metal cork a

8

02/16/2018

0

Compagnie des Indes Latino 5-year

Lively pleasant stuff There is reason in being critical towards the dogma that "older is better". "Ooh, I have this 18 year old rum, it surely must be better than this 12 y

8

07/29/2017

1

Santiago de Cuba Extra Anejo 12-year

A staple in my collection Make no mistake. This is a very decent rum. I always keep a bottle of SdC 12 year at home and it's always quick to dissappear. It's a rum for many moo

8

09/28/2017

0

Foursquare 2004 Zinfandel Cask Blend 11-year

Easy as sunday morning This reminded me very much of the popular Diplomatico Reserva Exclusiva, without the 30 grams of sugar added, so it's much more lively and you won't

8

09/27/2017

0

Mezan XO Jamaica

Honest and very decent effort Mezan calls itself "The Untouched Rum" which means no added sugar, no added colouring (like caramel) and only a light filtering. The Jamaican XO is th

8

04/08/2016

8

Angostura 1824 12-year

Great rum for a specific mood Edit 28-09-17: I am deducting a point since my new bottle seems distinctly sweeter and definitely betrays added sugar. Either they increased the sugar

8

03/27/2016

10

Flor de Caña 12-year

You'll hate it or love it My girlfriend and I agree on most rums but we are perpetually divided when it comes to the FdC 12. She hates it, I adore it. Almost as much as the FdC

8

03/27/2016

0

Flor de Caña 18-year

Quintessential Flor de Cana A great rum has a flavour that A: agrees with your palate and B: isn't found in any other rum. FdC 18 (and it's little brother the FdC 7) has that qui

8

03/27/2016

0

Flor de Caña Gran Reserva 7-year

Top marks for versatility I've drunk bucket loads of the 7 yr. old Flor de Cana. It is cheap enough to mix (around 22 euro's here), it goes extremely well with cola, yet is goo

8

03/27/2016

0

Havana Club Selección de Maestros

Masterly indeed Only had it once, so I will not (can not) elaborate too much on this one. But I remember thinking it was a very sophisticated sipper. It might be the

8

03/27/2016

0

Brugal 1888

Very solid One of my favourite of the moment, especially considering the reasonable price. This is a subtle and compact rum. It doesn't wildly throw flavours all

8

03/26/2016

0

Neisson Reserve Speciale

Only for agricole lovers I'm not sure i've ever tasted a rum quite this dry and "green" tasting. Not for everybody. Decent agricole though, if you are in the mood for somethin

7

12/04/2016

0

Matusalem Gran Reserva 23-year

not bad, but not great Tasted this following a meal in a Peruvian restaurant in Belgium, together with the Rum Nation Panama 23yr. and the Millonario XO. Now, besides eating

7

09/02/2016

0

Bacardi 8

Solid as an oak A decent choice when you find yourself in a generic bar that doesn't specialize in rum. I can happily drink this, though I slighty prefer the Havana C

7

06/21/2016

0

Cubay Anejo

a favourite cuban everyday rum Very decent, typically Cuban. Not too different from the Havana Club Anejo Especial. Maybe a little sweeter. I remember I liked it better than the San

7

03/28/2016

0

Mount Gay Black Barrel

Manly rum for manly men If you have a sweet tooth or a delicate palate / weak stomach, you might find this a bit harsh. Whisky drinkers (like me, although I prefer rum) will

7

03/28/2016

0

Botran Solera 1893 18-year

Good enough, but I expected more I've always liked the younger Botran 12 as a cheap everyday sort of rum, especially during my time in Guatemala, so I had high hopes for this one. Hav

7

03/28/2016

0

Botran Anejo 12-year

Bang for your buck! Firstly: it's cheap. Also people should note, the Botran 12 is, like most Botrans and most Zacapas, a solera-style rum, so it's not actually 12 years

7

03/28/2016

0

Havana Club Anejo Especial

Dependable choice I actually slightly prefer this one over the 7 yr old Havana Club. This is a little more vibrant and playful and subtle. In the 7 yr old I find the fl

7

03/27/2016

0

Saint James Royal Ambre 18-Mois

Pleasantly surprised I like Rhum Agricole. Sometimes they taste as if you are chewing on grass or leaves or hay (makes you feel healthy though) but I do not find that unpl

7

03/27/2016

0

Ron Zacapa 23 Solera

Another non-believer Not much to say about the Zacapa 23 solera that hasn't been said before. It's a rum for people who don't like rum. It's a sugared fruity licqueur. It

7

03/27/2016

0

Havana Club 7-year

Very decent, typically cuban I like almost all cuban(styled) rums, but seldom do I love a cuban rum. But I do admire the Havana Club line-up, you can understand why it is so ubiqu

7

03/27/2016

0

Diplomatico Reserva Exclusiva

Slightly overrated and girly This is the bottle I open when I have female visitors who do not generally drink spirits. It's smooth, sweet and very accesible. Loads of vanilla and

7

03/26/2016

0

Bayou Select

Intriguing muscular rum Drank this when a representative of a spirits distribution company came to introduce his products at the hotel were I work. Not sure about this one, I

6

09/28/2017

0

Abuelo Gran Reserva 12-year

Mediocre rum relying on sugar The aroma is the best part of this rum. It's quite tropical. I get ripe mango, banana, some vanilla and coconut and the inside of a cigar box. Initial

6

03/30/2016

4

El Dorado 12-year

Understandibly popular but not very good It's no secret quite a bit of sugar is added to this one. As shown by more serious drinkers/reviewers and their hydrometer tests. Such knowledge will

6

03/27/2016

5

Dos Maderas PX 5+5

Another boring sweet rum I have had it with sweet rums. I find rums which have been artificially sweetened harder to drink than actual sweet liqueurs, for some reason. Dos Mad

6

03/05/2017

0

Ron de Jeremy XO 15-year

Overly sweet, but a decent effort Ron de Jeremy will remain a novelty rum. Something to snigger about at the office christmas party. And indeed my bottle was gift. Not something i'd pi

6

01/10/2017

0

Flying Dutchman Light

Decent effort I don't generally drink unaged, white rum (I think the label says it is aged for six months), but this was a gift and it surprised me. It was smooth a

6

03/28/2016

0

Barcelo Imperial

exciting at first, but quickly gets boring The first time I drank Barcelo Imperial was in Cuba where I spent my days drinking Ron Cubay on the rocks in the sweltering heat, watching the 2014 fo

6

03/28/2016

0

Pyrat XO Reserve

Maybe if you are into orange licqueur... It has been said many times already. This tastes like orange. So much so, I simply cannot believe it wasn't artificially added afterwards. Seeing as i

5

05/07/2017

2

Old Captain Extra Dry

Really not that bad Typical white rum. Not much flavour, except some slight vanilla. Nothing nasty or disgusting either, all in all pretty neutral. Surprisingly smooth, n

5

12/10/2016

0

Bacardi Superior

Let's be reasonable... ...and rate the white, ubiquitous, highly commercial, insanely marketed Bacardi Superior for what it is: a mixing rum. By my knowledge it never preten

5

04/02/2016

0

Flying Dutchman Premium Dark

harsh, unbalanced Nope, it doesn't work for me. I think Zuidam pulled it off with their white rum but this one couldn't impress me. I've had it for ages and it's still

5

03/28/2016

0

Caney Anejo Centuria 5-year

not my favourite of the cheap cubans Slighty surprised by the positive reviews here. Makes me think I missed something. I picked up a bottle of this stuff at the Havana airport. Compared

5

03/28/2016

0

Don Papa Small Batch

Flavour wise incontinent and medicinal Yug. I don't care for Don Papa. I've encountered it three times now at different parties/markets/events in my home country. I guess there is an import

5

03/27/2016

0

Negrita Bardinet Signature Dark 2-year

Bad with few redeeming features Found a dusty bottle of this in the back of the closet. Thought i'd try it, for the sake of rating it. Yeah, it's not good... Quite bitter and medicin

4

04/08/2016

0

Botran Anejo 8-year

To avoid Stay away from this one. When travelling in Guatemala I was always happily consuming the Botran 12, but its younger sibling is considerably harsher wi

4

03/28/2016

0

Bumbu Original

Ridiculous Disney rum Tons of added sugar (sticky lips), added banana extract and vanilla extract, an ugly, childish bottle that screams 'themepark giftshop': this is a jok

3

07/29/2017

28

Wishlist

Brand

Type

Country

Average Rating

Total Ratings

Kirk and Sweeney 18-year

Aged

Dominican Republic

8.0

227

Kirk and Sweeney 23-year

Aged

Dominican Republic

8.3

282

Kirk and Sweeney 12-year

Aged

Dominican Republic

7.5

391

Mezan 1999 Trinidad

Aged

Multiple

7.8

9

Facundo Exquisito

Aged

Puerto Rico

8.5

43

Mount Gay XO Extra Old

Aged

Barbados

7.8

728