A Flowery Song

Background: From Tuthilltown Spirits, a small-batch artisanal rum made from blackstrap molasses. Aged in American and European (French?) oak. Bottle 92 of Batch 1 from 2007.

Nose: Rich butterscotch and vanilla.

Taste: Sweet, oaky, lots of vanilla, some smoke and treacle.

Overall: It's a very nice rum, but at $40 for 375ml it's on the pricy side.

Background: This rum from Puerto Rico is aged for four years in ex-bourbon barrels. Maybe. Definitive evidence on this point is difficult to find.

Nose: Gark. This smells like imitation banana mixed with flowery perfume and caramels.

Taste: Sweet lead-in to a slightly oaked middle with notes of brown sugar and annoying esters. Finish is an almost cloying sweetness and more of the fake banana.

(Should I even bother adding water?)

Nose: More subdued, with maybe a hint of spice.

Taste: More of the same.

Overall: If for some reason you're forced to drink this supposedly “select” product, mix it with something. It might be bearable in eggnog. Maybe.

Background: Dark Jamaican rum produced since 1879. Fred L. Myers's & Sons was owned by Seagram's until the turn of the century, and is now a Diageo brand.

Nose: Molasses, copper, and oak.

Taste: Rich, slightly sweet taste with light oak notes. Short finish.

(Dye loot)

Nose: Oak is more prominent. Maybe some floral undertones.

Taste: Mellower, with some fruity flavours presenting.

Overall: Simple, uncomplicated rum. Excellent for cooking, good for mixing, mediocre for drinking neat.