Plantation Archives - First Pour Cocktails

Plantation Original Dark Rum

Posted on February 3, 2023January 17, 2023 by Nick

Rum starts lower than bourbon when it comes to cost, so finding reasonable rums for cocktails at under $20 isn’t a huge stretch. We’ve previously expressed our fondness for Plantation’s other offering, Plantation 3 Star. Slightly up the chain from a cost perspective, and with significantly more aging, is their Plantation Original Dark Rum. Sliding in at under $20, is this an addition your bar needs?

Plantation Original Dark Rum

Rum Info – Per Plantation’s Website:

Alc./Vol. : 40%
Origin : Barbados and Jamaica
Raw material : Molasses
Fermentation :
- Barbados : 72 hours
- Jamaica : 2 weeks
Distillation :
- Barbados : Twin Column and Pot Still
- Jamaica : Pot Still (John Dore)
Ageing : Blend of Barbados 1-3 year old, Jamaican Pot Still High Ester 10-15 year old, Finally blended into a wooden vat to age for 3 to 6 months in the southwest of France
Volatile Substances : 160 g/hL AA
Dosage : 15 g/L
Cane sugar caramel E150a (% vol) : Between 0% and 0.1%

Sight: Deep gold (Color Adjusted)

Smell: Caramelized tropical fruit and funky molasses rum ester come out at the start. The nose is sweet with fermenting bananas, overripe pineapple, and a mélange of orange notes. The brown sugar and caramel notes are rather prevalent as well. Possibly a hint of spice and red candies.

Sip: Lightly toasted banana and coconut lead things off in a thinner mouthfeel. The caramel notes come in, and the body is relatively smooth, light, and slightly funky. Touches of tropical fruit, like mango and pineapple hide in the roasted sugar and oak notes. There’s a subtle dryness here.

Savor: The slightly dry nature carries over with a good amount of caramelized sugar notes, for a bitter sweet sort of experience. The aged oak notes and sugar have hints of tropical fruits and rum ester.

Plantation Original Dark Rum is simple and easy going. When individuals think of dark rums, the blend of Jamaican and Barbados here does a good job of accomplishing a balance of each. It isn’t complex, but it also hits the right notes. Which makes it enjoyable, if a bit common in it’s presentation.

In Cocktails

In a Daiquiri the brown sugar notes come out with some of the more earthy, woodsy notes. The tropical fruit flavors come out in full effect with a cotton candy sort of note. The lime balances things and the body is relatively even. Overall, it’s a nice daiquiri that leans into the sugar side of things, but does it with aplomb.

In Review – Plantation Original Dark Rum

Plantation Original Dark Rum is simple, well put together, and easy-going. Is it the most interesting rum you’ll have? No. As a solo sipper, it certainly isn’t something you’d want to slog through. Does it make a lights out cocktail? Not particularly. What it does do is make a solid, well rounded drink that combines both Barbados and Jamaican notes. The key feature here is that it sits under $20. At that price point, this is a no brainer for a bottle to start your home bar with.

Plantation Xaymaca Special Dry

Posted on October 10, 2022 by Nick

Plantation Xaymaca Special Dry is a 100% Pot Still Rum, and aims to show off the traditional rum funk of 19th century rum. The rum is an aim to return to the original aspects of Jamaican rum. With access to both “Long Pond” and “Clarendon”, this rum is a dream of Alexandre Gabriel, the master distiller of plantation. So does it work out as dream?

Plantation Xaymaca Special Dry

Rum Info (per Plantation’s site):

Alc./Vol. : 43%
Origin : Jamaica
Distilleries : Clarendon and Long Pond Distilleries
Raw material : Molasses
Fermentation : 1 and 3 weeks
Distillation :
- Clarendon : Pot Still (Vendôme)
- Long Pond : Pot Still (John Dore)
Tropical ageing : 1-3 years in Bourbon casks
Continental ageing : 1 year in Ferrand casks
Volatile Substances : 312 g/hL AA
Esters : 156 g/hL AA
Marks :
- Clarendon : EMB & MLC marks
- Long Pond : VRW & STC^E marks
Classification : Plummer
Dosage : 0 g/L
Cane sugar caramel E150a (% vol) : between 0% and 0.1%

Sight: Amber (Color corrected)

Smell: Spiced banana’s foster laden with rich buttery caramel and funky tropical fruit. Cracked black pepper and green papaya run through with a pop of spice. Creamy mangos and papayas with a hint of berries come in to add more tropical riffs in the character. The nose feels deeper than it should, and has a good richness.

Sip: The ester funk is unapologetic here, coming in from the word go. Interestingly, the dryness is present but keeps it well balanced throughout. The flavors of Jamaican funk come through, but ripe bananas, pineapple, mango, and a subtle grape-berry notes are prevalent. The spice and caramel are in the background, and start to show themselves closer to the ending.

Savor: The ending is spicy and oak laden with the tropical fruit taking background. The result is a bit of a fruity finish that leans spiced and dry as it lingers.

Plantation Xaymaca Special Dry has a wonderfully complex nose, and then doesn’t over do the sugar throughout. The flavors are well balanced, if drier, showing off the fruity components while minimizing sweetness. The flavor profile is unapologetically Jamaican, but rounded off by the continental aging. If you like the general character of Jamaican rum this is something you should consider to sip.

In Cocktails

In Grog, Plantation Xaymaca Special Dry shows off it’s tropical fruit in spaces against the lime and sweetness. The subtle touches of sweetness from the dark demerara bring forward more spice and caramelized notes. While it’s smooth, it doesn’t have the most depth.

In Review – Plantation Xaymaca Special Dry

Plantation Xaymaca Special Dry is really a great way to spend a few dollars more and get a very specialized rum. The flavor profile isn’t as aggressive as Appleton. For fans of a bit of the Jamaican funk without the full bore hit, this is a great option for $25. It also has enough balance that you could consider it as your only aged rum, if you’re starting your home bar.

Plantation Barbados 5 Year Rum

Posted on August 19, 2022July 28, 2022 by Nick

Plantation has made some of our favorite rums for making tiki drinks. While their three star is great for Daiquiri’s and other drinks requiring lightly aged rums, you might find yourself wanting something a little more caramelized and complex. Their original dark could be a good option for something aged, but if you want something a little more unique, why not consider their single origin offering? Enter the Plantation Barbados 5 Year Rum.

Plantation Barbados 5 Year Rum

Plantation Barbados is aged 5 years, 3-4 in bourbon barrels in the Caribbean and 1-2 in French oak on the continent. The rum contains added sugar (dosage) at 16 g/L, and caramel color to ensure consistency.

Sight: A 14-18k carat gold.

Smell: French vanilla, caramel, banana, and tropical fruit mix with a touch of rum ester to lead things off. Spices come in with a touch of oak, before giving way to coconut and sweet brown sugar. Dark fruits come in at the end. There is a hint of heat to the nose, but nothing offensive.

Sip: The palate starts of light and slightly sweet. The sweetness builds and brings in toasted marshmallow, French vanilla, caramelized bananas, and baking spices. Cigar box and oak come in, and there’s a touch of toffee, ester, and tropical fruit.

Savor: The ending carries in more vanilla with hints of dried tropical fruits and oak. The finish lingers pleasantly with a bit of tannin for a moderate length of time.

Plantation Barbados 5 Year Rum is very approachable and easy going. The flavors are sweet and woody, which is helped by the actual subtle sweetness of the rum. The sippable nature has enough complexity that it doesn’t get boring, but enough complexity to keep it interesting. It feels dependable and reliable, despite not feeling exceptionally unique.

In Cocktails

In a daiquiri Plantation Barbados 5 Year Rum imparts many of the same caramel and toasted marshmallow notes with lots of oak. It plays a great counterpoint to the lime’s brightness and works well with the simple. In a grog, it also works well, although thanks to the sweet notes, it can stand the extra acidity. We’ve also used Plantation Barbados 5 Year extensively in our tiki drinks, finding it extraordinarily versatile as a base to split with other strong rums like Smith & Cross or Plantation O.F.T.D.

In Review – Plantation Barbados 5 Year Rum

Plantation Barbados 5 Year Rum is a really solid rum, and a great choice for an aged addition to a bar. The neutral and aged rum character actually makes it a nice bottle for starting a home bar too. We recommend it as a starting point, or even a dependable shelfer to keep around thanks to it’s price in the low $20 range.

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/

Plantation XO 20th Anniversary

Posted on November 6, 2019 by Nick

The final of the 3 rums we bought to enjoy on vacation – Plantation XO 20th Anniversary was a rum to indulge in on the trip. To honor their Master Blender, Plantation started this rum in ex-Bourbon barrels for 8 – 15 years, before sailing it across the Atlantic to be aged in french oak casks used for a variety of purposes. After 2-10 years, 20 g/L dosage is added, along with color to even out batches. So does all this work make a great rum?

So is Plantation XO 20th Anniversary Any Good?

Plantation is really quite a nice rum, despite having a nose that’s a little hotter than average. The alcohol parts and allows vanilla, demerara sugar, golden raisins, and honey to come through. On the palate it’s more on the dark size, having molasses, dates, roasted coconut, and brown sugar. The sweeter side hides some of the rum, and it doesn’t quite feel as thick. The finish is on the tropical side.

Overall, we like Plantation XO 20th Anniversary, even though we didn’t have the time to make a lot of drinks with it. The flavor worked well on it’s own, but also in some of the rough shod tiki drinks we created. At $40 it’s fairly priced, expensive enough that you’re going to enjoy it but maybe not cheap enough to justify hunting down to mix.

Raw Tasting Notes

Nick: The nose is a bit on the hot end of the spectrum. Below the alcohol vanilla, golden raisins, and light brown sugar place nicely. A hint of ripe banana also touches the nose. A darker spice comes in at the start of the palate, adding a woody, molasses note. Caramel, roasted coconut, and preserved mango join in. A mild sweetness is present, and the body is somewhat thinner. The finish is like dried tropical fruit with touches of sugar.

Overall, I feel like I want to enjoy Plantation XO more than I do. It’s a nice rum, but at the price I can’t help but feel it isn’t that nice a rum. There’s a certain amount of cigar or sandalwood like character here. Maybe a hint of cognac because of the aging.

Ann Marie: Smell: a bit grain alcohol-like. Also notes of demerara sugar, vanilla, apricot jam, honey, and dates. Taste: dates, dried apricots, honey, brown sugar, caramel, and oak chips. Definitely on the sweeter side rather than spice compared to other rums. The flavor dissipates more quickly but coats your mouth, feeling like you’re eating dried fruit out of trail mix.

Plantation XO 20th Anniversary Rum Website

Plantation O.F.T.D. Rum

Posted on June 3, 2019April 28, 2021 by Nick

For Christmas last year, I got Ann Marie a copy of Smuggler’s Cove’s book and our rum collection hasn’t been the same since. The book is a fantastic overview of tiki, talking through the history, providing recipes, and more importantly a list of rums to make the recipes. The list of rums is broken down into categories, typically referring to the base material used (molasses or sugar cane), the form of distillation (column or pot still), and the age (lightly aged, moderately aged, long aged, etc). In addition to these categories, there’s also recommended overproof rums – including Plantation O.F.T.D. Rum

On Its Own

Plantation O.F.T.D. Rum – or Old Fashioned Traditional Dark Rum – is made of a blend of rums from Guyana, Jamaica, and Barbados. The rum is the result of consultation between owner Alexandre Gabriel and a cadre of rum and spirits specialists, including Jeff “Beachbum” Berry, David Wondrich, Martin Cate (the owner of Smuggler’s Cove and writer of the book), and several others. O.F.T.D. is produced from molasses in both Pot and Column still methods and has sugar added (at 16g/L). There is also added color to ensure consistency. There’s a fairly good list of technical details on Plantation’s site.

Overproof spirits are undoubtedly hot, and Plantation O.F.T.D Rum is no exception. You would be advised to keep this away from your nose and avoid holding it for too long on your tongue on diluted – lest you enjoy the burning sensation. However, if you’re careful you can find a rather beautiful rum hiding behind the heat.

Plantation O.F.T.D. has a wonderful nose of caramel and molasses with notes of jammy orange and a mix of baking spices including cloves, cinnamon, and all-spice. Despite the alcohol, a sip starts relatively smooth. Flavors of raisins, dates, and other preserved fruits mix with molasses, creamy caramel, dark brown sugar. Hints of vanilla, coffee, oak, and orange round it out – and a subtle sweetness go throughout. The ending lingers with a fair amount of heat and subtle sweetness.

As a reminder – this is not a sipping rum without a healthy amount of water added. Use it for mixing.

Plantation O.F.T.D Rum – In Cocktails

The big bold flavors of Plantation O.F.T.D. Rum play well in a variety of tiki drinks we tried from Smuggler’s Cove*. We ended up using it in The Undead Gentleman – a fancier version of a Zombie (another cocktail where this would play well). The Undead Gentleman features absinthe, lime juice, grapefruit juice, cinnamon syrup, Velvet Falernum, black blended overproof rum, blended aged rum, and Angostura bitters. It’s shaken and served up.

The Undead Gentleman

The play of the two rums is strong – and the lime interacts well with the grapefruit and cinnamon. All the elements are very forthright on the nose – and make for an alluring smell. The flavor on the palate is slightly hot – but not excessively so. A gentle sweetness and the funk of both rums combine with the cinnamon and lime, and a hint of falernum to give you a tropical trip that you feel relatively quickly. If you happen to be lacking absinthe (or don’t like it) omitting it won’t be the end of the world – simply enjoy it anyways.

In general, it’s a solid drink.

The Final Word – Plantation O.F.T.D. Rum

Plantation O.F.T.D. Rum

Rating

Coming Soon!

Cocktails Involving O.F.T.D

Other’s Share Their Thoughts On Plantation O.F.T.D Rum

Raw Tasting Notes:

“It like evaporates in your mouth!” – It does. /Ron Howard

Ann Marie:

Nose: Coffee and orange – dark spice blend can’t tell if it’s cinnamon, all-spice, cloves – Not quite molasses but a darkened caramel. A candied pecan nuttiness, but not sweet.
Taste: Orange and allspice, clove and baking spices. Coffee hints as well. The finish is powerful – but there’s a lingering aftertaste of toasted dark brown sugar and orange. Like a hint of orange.

Nick

Nose: Molasses – Caramel – Cloves – Hints of Jammy orange like marmalade. Demerara sugar and brown sugar come to play.
Taste: Obviously warm – but also extremely smooth. Raisins and dates and other preserved fruits play with molasses, creamy caramel, and dark brown sugar. Hints of mellow oak and vanilla come through as well. The ending is full of dark sugar, toasted oak, spice, and caramel.

I would not recommend holding this in your mouth – it burns.

Tag: Plantation

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Plantation Original Dark Rum

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Plantation XO 20th Anniversary

So is Plantation XO 20th Anniversary Any Good?

Raw Tasting Notes

Plantation O.F.T.D. Rum

On Its Own

Plantation O.F.T.D Rum – In Cocktails

The Undead Gentleman

The Final Word – Plantation O.F.T.D. Rum

Cocktails Involving O.F.T.D

Other’s Share Their Thoughts On Plantation O.F.T.D Rum

Raw Tasting Notes:

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