I’ll admit to having scored this one for its novelty factor; seeing a rum from Venezuela of all places sounded rather interesting. I’m glad I bought it, as Diplomatico scores serious points as a sipping rum.
First of all, I’m not an expert on rum; in fact, the sum total of my rum knowledge is limited to ordering a “Bacardi and Coke” as my go-to “End of Meetings, Must Stay Awake for Mandatory Dinner” drink during my corporate days. (And I gave up soda ten years ago, so the Rum and Coke days are done, too.)
I will, however, admit that the thought of sipping something that wasn’t whiskey was intriguing. So, having found this at my unnamed local wine, beer, and spirits place, and seeing the price was under $30 at the time, I went for it. Let’s take a look.
Taste
Your fear of rum could be similar to my fear of rum: if you don’t mix it, what do you do with it? That brings us to the concept of just sipping. A rum. With nothing else going on.
If you wonder how that actually works, check out this video from an International Rum Ambassador:
I tasted mine neat, but can understand the desire to water it down at least a little; next time, I’ll do it on the rocks to cut down on the strength. I didn’t find it too overpowering, though.
I get the “caramel” and “molasses” notes that other tasters mentioned on other sites (here’s a link to a review from another site that tried the “Exclusiva” from Diplomatico). And, again, this rum, to me at least, is designed for sipping — though it’s possible you could mix it with cola.
Profile
40% ABV (80 Proof). For comparison, Captain Morgan normally clocks in at 75 Proof.
Value
$24.99 was what we paid back then; the price seems to have gone up to around $30 for the lower-end (which is what we sampled). You’re not going to have it every day, but this bottle has lasted me the better part of a year.
Metasip Grade: B+
I teetered back and forth between B+ and A-; I don’t think I’ve sampled enough rum to go with an A-, though, so we’ll keep it here for now.
Enjoy!