Plantation - XO Barbados 20th Anniversary Rum 70cl, 40% ABV

Product Information

Očarí vás ohromujúca ovocná vôňa, ktorá postupne prechádza až do kvetinovej arómy. Po niekoľkých minútach, čo rum necháte chvíľu vydýchnuť ucítite vanilku, kakao a mliečnu čokoládu. Na jazyku sa vám začne rozplývať chuť škorice prekladaná výraznou cukrovou trstinou a maslovým keksíkom, ktorú dopĺňa spomínané kakao a vanilka. Zakončenie je stredne dlhé a iba čiastočne sladké. Rum si udržiava konštantnú kvalitu napriek zvýšenej produkcii a dopytu po ňom. Tak tuto láhev na polici v obchodě rozpoznáte ihned. Ať už bude ve vysoké pěkné nastajlované krabičce hnědé barvy, nebo bude jen tak samotná. Láhev (0,7 l) je jinak docela masivní a těžká se silným dnem. Při nalévání je to opravdu fajn pocit mít ji v ruce (jen ať vám při tom nepadne na nohu…). The bottle with the mesh is slightly less sweet. It is darker, than the honey gold of the shorter bottle. It doesn't have as much complexity. It's still a decent sipper but falls short of great.

The rest of the ageing period is performed in ex-cognac “Ferrand casks” in France. This rum provides a kaleidoscope of tasty tropical notes and the aroma of pipe tobacco too! There will still be those who most will recommend the infamously sweet rum from Spanish speaking countries like Diplomatico (Venezuela) or Ron Zacapa (Guatemala). But these are likely those who like sweet drinks and don’t think much of transparency, or don’t care about being lied to by brands via fake age statements and unlabeled dosing of rum. Am I being unfair? No, unfortunately for Plantation the more “serious” rum enthusiast – those that want unadulterated spirits are largely unenthused by Plantation’s efforts. Even when they release undosed product. Plantation je značka, která se na trhu objevuje od roku 1999, takže od ní nějakou extra historii neočekávejte. Spíše výjimečný marketing a příležitost. Majitel značky Alexander Gabriel nejprve doslova vzkřísil luxusní koňak Pierre Ferrand (ještě v roce 1989) a aby využil vzácných sudů, kde tento božský mok zrál, rozhodl se, že v nich budou pokračovat rumy.Co se týče vizuálu, tak ten ozvláštňují vlákna třtiny či spíše nějaká forma lýka, nechybí zlaté logo a ve středu etikety v kroužku výrazné označení „XO“. Kdysi tam byla dvacetka, ale svádělo to k myšlence, že se jedná o dvacetiletý ročníkový rum, takže výrobci ji velmi rozumně přemístili pod zmíněný kroužek. Trochu zklamáním je umělý korek. No co už.

Plantation XO 20th Anniversary získal nespočetné množstvo ocenení, medzi najvýznamnejšie však patria: zlatá medaila z International Wine & Spirit Competition 2012, RumXP Gold z Miami Rum Festival a hodnotenie 94/100 na výstave Ultimate Spirits Challenge 2015. Plantation Grande Reserve is a blended Caribbean molasses rum that blends pot and column distilled Barbadian rums. It is then aged in Barbados’ hot and humid conditions, in casks formerly used for American whiskey and sherry. Disappointing. So disappointing and disgusting. I am actually sad I thought very highly of them one time. If this is the future standard of Barbados rum, then I will not buy anymore Barbados rum in the future. Score: 3/10 Distilled in Fiji from fermented sugar cane, Plantation Isle of Fiji is aged in Fiji for 2-3 years in casks formerly used for bourbon before being re-casked in French oak casks and aged for a further year in the Cognac region of France.John, great piece and I’m totally in agreement with your angle. I’ve enjoyed rum for some years now but have only begun my forays into more premium offerings. After initially being wowed by the Plantation XO I came across the documentation of their dosage practices and felt cheated – how much of what I tasted was the sugar and how much the quality of the production practices and aging? What makes this more egregious is that Maison Ferrand (which makes some delicious cognac, to show I’m not too biased) is forbidden in its cognac production from chaptalization, or adding sugar. What’s good for the goose should be good for the gander. The actual rum taste is obscured but the spirit doesn’t taste particularly old or well aged. Aside from coconut I get notes of sweet young alcohol rather than a sophisticated blend of aged rums. Plantation’s Barbados Wild Cherry Finish rum shows that they can make excellent Barbados rum. This cookie is set by Rubicon Project to control synchronization of user identification and exchange of user data between various ad services.

It is a very difficult thing to get right," says Alexandre of the dual maturation process, "but when done well, it's paradise. In the Caribbean, Plantation Rums are rare treasures. At Ferrand, they become jewels." Its time for Bajan rum along with Jamaica and Martinique rums to be recognised as the world standard quality products they are, its a shit fight to get that recognition and people like MF who are making a ton of money from the work of others, whilst pretending to fly the flag of quality are no better than pimps. What is a GI? According to the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) 1995 Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), GI’s are defined as “indications which identify a good as originating in the territory of a Member, or a region or locality in that territory, where a given quality, reputation or other characteristic of the good is essentially attributable to its geographic origin.” For example, both Scotch and Bourbon have GIs. And to be honest quite a “confected” one at that. It’s very sweet. The nose becoming almost saccharin like – just a slight bitter artificial note creeping in. Despite this I can still get some notes of oak and spice from the rum. Hints of vanilla and some traces of bourbon flit in and out.The rum I Prefer and gave a 9 to is the shorter, squater bottle without the string/rope mesh around the bottle. Now that I’ve introduced you to eight of the best Plantation rums worthy of delighting your taste buds, you can decide what Plantation Rum is best for you! The paragraph with the statement: “But they just can’t call whatever they make in WIRD Barbados rum” is a little one sided. You’re right that rum that is sent over to France, to be second aged and treated to their dosage process of adding “aged sugar” (their words not mine) shouldn’t get to call it Barbados rum, based on the GI that’s been proposed by the majority of the distilleries on the island. But, in theory, there shouldn’t actually be anything to stop WIRD producing Barbados rum, which could meet the proposed GI and therefore be able to call it Barbados rum. Of course whether they’re willing to do so is a different matter.