Review 26 - Rum Nation Barbados 2001 10 year old

Photo copyright © H.Kristoffersen

A Bajan entry level stunner for the masses.

Information
Today we have another one from Rum Nation. This time I am mentally going to Barbados for a 10 year old rum from 2001.

As with other Rum Nation products it is sourced form a local distillery and then sent to Europe to be sold. We are some seriously lucky Europeans to be spoiled with rums like these.

This particular rums comes from the West Indies Rum Distillery (WIRD), from where we also get a lot of other Bajan rums from independant bottlers, like Cockspur, Duncan Taylor, Rum Swedes and a lot more.

Perhaps not as famous as the Mount Gilboa (Mount Gay) or the Foursquare (R.L. Seale, Doorly’s) facility, but still an institution in Bajan rum.

It is bottled at the standard 40% ABV.

Presentation

First of all. The box. Seriously Rum Nation. Please make better boxes for your entry level stuff og simply refrain from doing it.

Cheap and flimsy cardboard box with a transparent plastic side, which is clearly made to showcase the rum. Unfortunately I get annoyed with it really fast because of the flimsy-ness and the lack of ability to keep harmful light out.

I mentioned this with the Peruano 8 as well. I hate waste. And that is what the flimsy box ends up being.

The nice, almost orange liquid is presented in a tall bar room bottle, which was the bottle used for former Rum Nation releases. Today they have moved on to shorter, squat bottles instead.

I actually like the taller bottles a lot more, as they are easier to hold with your mittens and the squat bottled quickly tend to look a little cheap to me. Unless they somehow manage to give it a more pirate-y look like the El Dorado 12 or 15.

And so far I don’t think that the squat versions of Rum Nations stellar rums, have managed to move away from the slightly cheap look. This must also be why they still go for the taller bottles for their premium Jamaican Supreme Lords and Guyanese Demeraras.

On top of the bottle we find a typical natural cork with a faux wood stopper. Very nice.

When pulling the cork, I get that satisfying pop that instantly make my body relax, knowing that sweet nectar is next.

In the glass the rum exhibits a lighter nature when twirled leaving only a thin ring, from where a lot of skinny legs quickly becomes visible as the many droplets descend towards the surface with such haste.

Nose

My first thought was ”Sweet and fresh”. Flat cola on a fresh and cool spring day, just as the light rain shower stopped.

Taking over from the freshness was a lot of green banana peel, and some light herbal scents followed by a touch of menthol

Very nice and fresh on the nose.

Taste

Sipping the rum reveals a lighter profile full of herbal flavours – particularly chamomile and spearmint.

Apart from the herbs I also tasted a lot of banana peel and liquorice spice.

Theres isn’t much oak or other wooden notes to find (if any at all), which I find a little curious taking into consideration that it is a 10 year old rum.

All in all it is super drinkable. The combination of herbs and medicinal notes makes it a little edgy, but the lighter profile prevents it from getting unpleasant.

Finish

The finish it quite warm, but also quite light and short.

There is some herbal aftermath from the mint and the chamomile, which seems to cover the tongue in an oily residue, that stays for a while.

Rating and final thoughts

I have found that my own experience often varies when compared to others peoples notes or even official notes from the producers. So I was very surprised of the synchronisation between the official notes and my own experience in this particular instance.

Normally the makes tend to describe the flavours in creative and imaginative terms. However this time it felt very accurate.

The combination of notes is very interesting. Both the herbs, the mint and the banana peel blends together perfectly and makes it seem like a medieval, medical concoction – but very pleasant to drink.

It has a slight edge that keeps reminding you that it isn’t a premium product – and fair enough. Because it isn’t a premium product.

Over all it is a very nice entry level product and a nice representative for Bajan rums in general. 

Having paid €35-40 for it, the value for money is very good. This seems to be a commonality when it comes to Rum Nation products, and I like that very much.

We work many hours a day to scrape together hard earned money, so the better value for money, the more happy I am with a product.

I see no reason not to get your self a bottle of this if you feel like trying out a Bajan, and you have the money to spare.

Getting to the conclusion I will go for a…

Rating: 74/100

Links

http://rumnation.com/en/archivio/barbados-10-yo-2001-2011.html