Lightly Aged Archives - First Pour Cocktails

Bacardi Gold

Posted on December 3, 2021August 25, 2022 by Nick

Bacardi Gold is the very definition of lightly aged. At between one and two years in oak barrels, Bacardi Gold is on the low end of age. The product is run through charcoal filtration and claims a remarkably smooth character. At only $10, this is either an incredible value, or a “you get what you pay for situation”. We had a pretty good idea this wouldn’t be an amazing value, and we probably would have never bought this bottle (or any of the other bottom shelf Bacardis) if not for a funny little coincidence that happened about a year back.

In Cleveland, the Cleveland Cavaliers revamped the Quicken Loans Arena a couple years back. The resulting stadium (renamed the Quicken Loans Arena) contained new premium seating options, including the Bacardi Ocho Lounge. About two years ago, we received an email from a Cavs rep who sent us premium seats. In a bit of a misguided and hopeful moment, we thought perhaps this had to do with this blog. While we had a great time, it had nothing to do with our cocktail prowess, and we now have these three rums we hoped to impress the Cavs with a few years back.

Bacardi Gold

Sight: A yellow gold hue.

Smell: Traditional caramel and brown sugar notes lead things off with a hint of banana. Vanilla notes come through with a light touch of oak and rum funk. There’s a slight amount of alcohol.

Sip: The body is light, and leads off with notes of caramel, demerara sugar, and molassess. Hints of spice and oak come into the picture. There’s a subtle fruitiness and a light rum funk. There’s a whisp of alcohol.

Savor: The finish is more of the same with a washed out caramel and oak nature that lingers with a slight bent toward the wood.

Bacardi Gold is uncomplicated, uninteresting, and inoffensive. The rum itself tastes like a low expectation, lightly aged rum. While it doesn’t burn or have a heavy bitterness, it doesn’t drive any sort of interest. These characteristics don’t prognosticate a great outcome in cocktail testing either.

In Cocktails

Unsurprisingly, Bacardi Gold hides quite well in a Daiquiri. The lime and rum counterpoint effectively to each other, but the result is a slightly caramelly drink with a touch of tropical fruit and a good amount of brightness. The sweet resulting drink is nice, but boring. In a Grog the result is even more underwhelming. The lack of acid fails to wake up the minimal rum notes, and the result is a drink that doesn’t invite you back.

Bacardi Gold – Overall

Bacardi Gold is about $10, and for $10 it doesn’t make any fatal errors. It performs well enough as a rum, but doesn’t add any flavor. The problem is that for about $10 more, the quality of the bottle you can purchase is more than twice as great. For those reasons, we can’t recommend Bacardi Gold for anything other than late night volume production.

Bacardi Superior

Posted on October 1, 2021 by Nick

Bacardi always seemed like a step up in college. Compared to the questionably named brands hiding out on the bottom shelf, it had an air of quality to it. The more experience I had with rum, the more I learned that there were really two kinds of rum that Bacardi was invested in making. On one hand, they offered good quality, reasonably aged rums at (usually) reasonable prices for mixing with a couple of truly high end offerings mixed in. On the other hand, they offer mass marketed, entry level rums that are usually uninspired, and occasionally questionable in taste without a healthy dose of strongly flavored mixers to cover. At $8, Bacardi Superior fits squarely in the second category.

Bacardi Superior

Bacardi Superior is lightly aged in oak (no age statement), and filtered for color.

Sight: Clear.

Smell: There are notes of ethanol, rum ester, vanilla, and tropical fruits that lead off. Then the nose kind of stops evolving. What you smell on the first pass is pretty much where it stays.

Sip: The palate is thin and light, neither dry nor sweet. The note of ester and banana peel starts, with hints of alcohol and touches of vanilla extract and powdered sugar.

Savor: The ending is short, alcohol forward, and slightly dry. It lingers briefly, with just a touch of tropical fruit.

Bacardi Superior is presumably superior to something, but it’s not a first choice rum for us. As the price point implies, there should be low expectations going in, and from that standpoint, it delivers. It’s not offensive or aggressive, but it’s also not interesting. Rather, it does a lightly aged style of rum decently in a way you won’t overtly notice in Rum and Coke or similar mixed drink.

In Cocktails

The main problem with Bacardi Superior is that doesn’t add anything. In a Daiquiri you get plenty of lime and sweetness, but the rum is more an alcohol weight and slightly tropical flavor twist. Where it does best is hiding in something, like a Rum and Coke or spiking a punch. Again, the key here is not to expect much, and there’s not a lot to be disappointed in.

In Review – Bacardi Superior

If you had to buy a rum, and none of recommended rums are available, then Bacardi Superior isn’t the end of the world. From a flavor standpoint, it’s fine. From a price standpoint it’s good. It’s just not recommendable or memorable. Besides, Bacardi makes better things – like their Bacardi 8 – and used to make better lightly aged rums (like Bacardi Mastro de Ron).

Western Reserve Distillers Silver Rum

Posted on June 25, 2021June 21, 2021 by Nick

Located in our backyard of Lakewood, Ohio, Western Reserve Distillers has been churning out an assortment of liquors since 2015. Among them is Western Reserve Distillers Silver Rum. Starting life in Louisiana, sugar cane is harvested and converted into Black Pearl molasses. Once brought to Western Reserve, the molasses is fermented with special strain of tropical yeast and then double distilled using a copper kettle. The distillate is then aged in bourbon barrels before being filtered to remove the color.

Western Reserve Distillers Silver Rum

Sight: Clear.

Smell: Vanilla and powder sugar coat a lightly toasted coconut. Touches of tropical fruits and banana hide around the edge with just a hint of spice.

Sip: The sip starts off with predominately toasted marshmallows and vanilla. The flavors gradually expand into notes of oak and spice, with a hint of tropical fruit. The body is smooth and moderate in its weighting. A little heat builds over time.

Savor: The ending contains some of the same oak and marshmallow notes, but the flavors dissipate relatively quickly, leaving more oak notes behind.

Western Reserve Silver Rum is an easy going, well crafted rum for the lightly aged category. It really shines on the toasted sugar side of the spectrum, especially with the vanilla and marshmallow notes. The wood notes can occasionally peak through, especially on the ending, but not unpleasantly. The overall effect is a rum that’s pleasant enough to taste, if not complex enough to sip.

In Cocktails

Western Reserve Distillers Silver Rum makes a fantastic daiquiri. The notes of vanilla and toasted marshmallow are accentuated by the simple syrup, and counterbalance nicely against the brightness of the lime. The net effect is akin to hints of key lime pie and lime popsicles. In other tiki drinks this helps Western Reserve Silver Rum play well, acting as a stand in for El Dorado 3 in our Love Potion.

In Review: Western Reserve Distillers Silver Rum

Western Reserve Distillers Silver Rum is a fantastic cocktail rum, ready to be employed for lightly aged rums. While it is good, we give a slight hat tip toward El Dorado 3, which achieves a very similar flavor profile at almost half the price. That aside, if you want to splurge and try a very nice rum from the north shore, then we recommend Western Reserve Silver Rum for a place in your bar.

Western Reserve Distillers Website

Kirk and Sweeney 12

Posted on July 30, 2020July 30, 2020 by Nick

Sometimes the bottle draws you in and draws you in with it’s mystical marketing charms. Named after a rum running schooner from the prohibition era, and with a cannonball like bottle, Kirk and Sweeney 12 has marketing in spades. In spite of this, their website gives very few details on the spirit contained within. While their suggested MSRP is $39, you can find it as low as the mid-twenties, but is it worth it?

Kirk and Sweeney 12

Before we talk about the Dominican Rum contained within Kirk and Sweeney’s bottle, let’s talk about the bottle itself. The cannonball bottle seem hellbound on trying to commit roughly every possible sin I can think of. It’s round – making it hard to pour. Being round – and therefore squat – it takes up more shelf than a normal bottle. It’s got a huge freaking lip – making it dribble. It has a cork with no T-stop – making it hard to grip and pull. The cork is tapered and if you pull it hard can tear.

But it looks like a cannonball. That’ll make it all better, right?

Sight: An improbably perfect caramel brown.

Smell: The smell of caramel and oak is prevalent – giving way into a molasses and brown sugar sweetness. There’s a woodsy spicy note as well. Some dried dates and roasted plantain notes come through as well. A slight must and a touch of heat is present as well.

Sip: The palate is light and gives way to a vanilla laced caramel. Notes of oak and spice come through powerfully – drowning out subtle nuances. It is mildly sweet.

Savor: The ending is moderately tannic, and there’s a strong wood and vanilla notes with a hint of cigar.

Kirk and Sweeney 12 direct in it’s unapologetic direction toward brown sugar and vanilla. A decent amount of oak and spice comes out as well, but gives it a somewhat generic character. As a sipper, it’s nice neat and pretty smooth. For beginning rum drinkers, you might enjoy the unoffensive, straightforward character that K+S 12 has.

In Cocktails

While I’ve enjoyed sipping on this rum neat, I can’t say I’ve ever found it well suited to crafting. Part of the problem is that the flavors seem to be easily diluted, and emphasize the tannic nature of the wood at points. It particularly gets lost in Tiki drinks, where multiple strong flavors are competing. Outside of a Bombo, Ti Punch, and a Cuba Libre, there aren’t a lot of subtle, uncomplicated rum drinks for Kirk and Sweeney 12 to call home.

Kirk and Sweeney 12: A Cannonball Alone In The Barrel

There are some positive elements to Kirk and Sweeney 12, and those coming from Oakheart or Captain Morgan’s Spice Rum might find this a good transition. While it’s certainly better than bottom shelf Bacardi, it’s hard to give it an edge over other more refined and versatile rum offerings like those from Appleton, Plantation, and even Bacardi’s more premium offerings.

For more info – visit Kirk and Sweeney’s website.

Plantation 3 Star

Posted on July 7, 2020 by Nick

Before we get into talking about Plantation 3 Star – it might be worth a moment to talk about Plantation. In light of recent events, Maison Ferrand has chosen to change Plantation’s name to Evolve. The name refers to a large farm – but due to the actual history of many of these farms and recent events – Plantation (rightly) chosen to update their name to avoid this regrettable period of history.

While the packaging flow through is no doubt starting soon – in all likelihood you’re going to be looking for Plantation 3 Star. If you’re reading this somewhere down the line – congratulations on getting here from a historical relic or a coincidence of search engine happenstance. The rum is actually rather nice for the price – and much more of why you’re likely here. So let’s dive in.

Plantation 3 Star

Plantation 3 Star is sourced from Barbados, Jamaica, and Trinidad. The bottle does not list percentages, and has been optimized for cocktail use rather than sipping. The style is that of a lightly aged rum.

Sight: Essentially clear – possibly with a slight tint of gold.

Smell: The nose starts off with a great amount of pineapple and miscellaneous tropical fruit. There’s something candied like about it – almost like a white coconut. There are notes of alcohol and subtle vanilla, banana (both ripe and green), and marzipan that also waft out.

Sip: The palate is soft and round – it begins smoothly with plenty ripe plantain, touches of marzipan, toasted sugar, and subtle tropical fruit notes. A touch of almost argicole like green herb hides at the edge, and a gradual heat builds. There’s also a good amount of sweetness throughout.

Savor: The finish ends up being somewhat sweet as well, and some of the heat lingers. There’s a little less smoothness here, but a pleasant toasted sugar and slightly grassy note that lingers.

Plantation 3 Star is a very clean and dynamic rum. It moves fluidly between sweet notes, green notes, and tropical fruit. The body is relatively smooth and inoffensive – though not inviting. While it has some edges, the flavor more than makes up for it. As a base level white rum, it’s a great choice at under $20.

In Cocktails

Plantation 3 Star does well in cocktails. The tropical flavors lend themselves well to classics like the daiquiri and more complex tiki drinks. The lime plays particularly well with some of the grassy notes. It does tend to fall a little short on more spiced and vanilla forward cocktails, where El Dorado 3 plays somewhat better.

Plantation 3 Star Overall

Overall – Plantation 3 Star plays a counter point to El Dorado 3 in our line up. Where El Dorado 3 plays the sweet, vanilla, cotton candied role in a drink – Plantation 3 Star is playing the role of the more tropical rum. These two points of contrast help explain why one might buy one or the other – or both of these rum. Either way, Plantation 3 is still a great choice of rum if you’re looking for a solid lightly aged rum for your cocktail collection at a great price.

Plantation’s Site: https://www.plantationrum.com/

El Dorado 3

Posted on March 19, 2020 by Nick

A couple years ago, I bought Ann Marie a copy of Smuggler’s Cove Tiki* cocktail manual. The result of this was two fold. First, it energized Ann Marie to branch out into a whole new area, and one that she arguably ended up being quite passionate about – Tiki drinks. The second result was the exponential growth of our rum collection, swelling from 2 – 4 bottles to over 20. Even with all those rums, we still find there to be something special about El Dorado 3.

El Dorado 3

We didn’t originally pick up a bottle of El Dorado 3 (we actually ended up with the 8), but we ended up being curious enough about their line up that we also ended up tasting not only the 8, but the 3, 5, and 12. As previously mentioned in our review of El Dorado 12, Demerara Distilling Limited (DDL) is home to some of the oldest operating stills in the world. While demerara and Guyana rums are known for the caramel (something that Matt Pietrek of Cocktail Wonk dug into with Sharon Sue-Hang of DDL), you won’t see any of that here thanks to the charcoal filtering process. Techniques like charcoal filtering, and their use of wooden stills, demonstrate the experience that DDL has. Experience that shows through in their rums, like their youngest, El Dorado 3.

Sight: Clear – thanks to charcoal filtering

Smell: Vanilla and powdered sugar with hints of banana and cotton candy are layered over by an ethanol layer. The nose is sugary, with hints of nougat and a little nuttiness.

Sip: The mouthfeel is moderate and there’s a fun salted caramel like note that quickly vanishes into large quantities of raw sugar and nougat. There’s a sweetness as well. A touch of banana and macaroon hides there as well.

Savor: The ending has a touch of rum funk and cotton candy with hints of nuts. Finish has a moderate length.

El Dorado 3 is our go to lightly aged rum thanks to it’s very well balanced character and playful flavors. The vanilla and caramel notes provide strong backbones for everything ranging from eloquent daiquiri’s to imaginative and elaborate Tiki drinks. In fact, our biggest regret regarding El Dorado 3 is that it isn’t more readily available everywhere.

If you are going to stock a lightly aged rum in your bar, El Dorado 3 is our top recommendation. For more recommendations, and to see other bottles for starting your home bar, check out our Beginner Home Bar Bottles list.

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