Sunday, January 10, 2010

Review: Old Monk 7 Years Old XXX Rum

I feel like Chris Hansen is going to show up at my door for having a blog post with "7 years old XXX" in the title. But thankfully for everyone, this post is just about rum.

When I think of the quintessential rum-producing countries, I can't say that India is the first one to come to mind. Or the tenth. But that's exactly where Old Monk hails from. It's a vatted (blended) rum with a seven year age statement. I imagine that seven years is the age of the oldest rum in the blend, rather than the youngest, given that this seems to be the standard for most rums, and that Old Monk is quite inexpensive. But is it good? Let's find out.

Old Monk comes in a squat little bottle, with a snakeskin-like texture to the glass, and hastily glued-on labels. It's an interesting effect, adding to the uniqueness of this spirit. It pours a deep amber brown, similar in color to a dark rum like Gosling or Myers. Its aroma is strong: butterscotch dominates the nose, with sweet caramel and alcohol also in the mix. The flavor is similar - butterscotch is still dominant, with hints of molasses and cherry coming into play in the background. Old Monk is also unusually sweet, and quite easy to drink, though not much for complexity. It's very nice neat, but probably lacks in versatility; I haven't tried it in any cocktails, but I imagine that its distinctive and strong flavor would make it hard to mix with, and tough to substitute for a more conventional dark rum in most drinks.

But, the price is definitely right. If you like butterscotch, and want a new sipping rum that's a bit off the beaten path, then you can't go wrong with Old Monk.

Price: ~$16

Value:
18/20
Overall Quality: 15/20

2 comments:

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  2. A round of applause for your blog post. Thanks again. This wine looks great. rum bottle wholesale

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