The RumX Community: Honest Reviews from Real Enthusiasts
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Voices of the community
Curated reviews from the community, refreshed weekly. Every voice takes you to the rum's full community verdict.
It’s much too sweet for me, sugarbomb. It’s more of a liquor than rum.
Diplomático Reserva Exclusiva 
Delicious and a lot of tropical fruit. Vanilla is coming through in this one and it sticks for a while. A super rum to sit and sip with your friends. A very good beginners rum in my mind,
West Indies Planteray Extra Old XO 20th Anniversary This is a very well balanced rum from Zacapa and I like is a lot especially considering the price tag. The nose is heavy with spice and sweetness and a touch of orange zest and chocolate. The palate is well rounded with caramel, honey and chocolate topped of with burnt oak and overripe fruits. It has a long, sweet and fruity finish with burnt oak. I'd say this one is better than the bottling from the late 90s and early 00s that won medals. Price to quality is very good.
Ron Zacapa Sistema Solera 23 
After a long time, once again took a wrong turn. The Don Papa is like an artificial medicine enriched with vanilla, caramel and orange flavors. While the nose is already irritating (high-proof Fanta), then comes the blackout in the mouth. Totally artificially medicinal, like a medicine you had to take as a child, but tasted awful, very sour. The three flavors pull themselves one-dimensionally from front to back. A rum this is not (more).
Don Papa Rum This is definitely a good rum for beginners. A bit too sweet for me, but still nicely balanced and an easy sipper. The nose is sweet with vanilla and chocolate. The palate is sweet and fruity with spices and caramel. Kind of a smooth rum. The finish is medium and sweet with vanilla.
Bumbu The Original This rum, together with its Overproof brother, marking an historic moment for all rum enthusiasts loving the funky 100% pot still rum from Jamaica. Now we don’t need to buy expensive Veliers. The nose is fruity and spicy with esters. At the palate it’s complex, intense and funky with strong flavors of fruits and spices.
Hampden Pure Single Jamaican Rum It’s quite sweet, almost too sweet. The new 2020 release is therefore much better. It tastes a lot of Demerara sugar. But I believe it’s one of the better entries to the rum world if you still can get a hold of a bottle.
DDL El Dorado 12 21.12.2025 Having a friend over who is not up to the heavier stuff, so we run through a few lighter rums. ---------- This is a very sweet and fruity rum and I would recommend it for dessert actually. It also does really well in a Rum'n'Coke and over Chocolate Icecream.
Don Papa Masskara 2018 If you should have just one Navy strength rum in your bar, this is the one. The nose is complex with aromas of esters, fruits and spices. At the palate it’s complex and funky with flavors of esters, fruits and spices. The finish is quite long and dry.
Smith & Cross Traditional Jamaican Rum The base in this rum is a 5yo blend from Guyana and Barbados aged in the Caribbean. I’ve tasted this blend and clearly recognize Demerara. After that it’s aged for 3 Solera years in Spain in Dos Cortados Sherry (very dry) barrels. Thereafter it’s aged for 2 more Solera years in former PX Sherry (very sweet) barrels. Have also read that they add a little PX Sherry (unconfirmed). These two years and the eventual added flavors give it an significant sweet Sherry taste that I don’t appreciate.
Dos Maderas 5 Years + 5 Years PX 
7,7:The nose of this rum is very typical. It is a work around caramel, with a well-burnt and dark tendency, lot s of tropical fruit-banana....Coffee and molasses are mixed in to create a dense and concentrated liquid. Then we oscillate between melted wood and notes of wet cardboard, before the pepper comes in to give it a little kick and freshness. But that's without counting on the vanilla which adds to the sweetness and the sugary sensation. After airing the cane has a chance to stick its head out again. It now appears with its straw and even a little bitter lime zest, all very candied and melted though. The woodiness is dusty, it's a roasted nuts at the end. 7,8:The palate is quite balanced and again very typical. There is an impression of sweetness which is balanced by the dryness of the roasted nuts. Then this palate becomes decidedly round and flattering, with notes of honey, molasses, coffee and light tobacco, slightlysmoky. It remains quite intense and not so sweet. Vanilla appears in touches, linking the wood and the sweetness, again tropical fruit-banana as a leader. 7,4:The finish is soft and rather discreet, it vanishes quite quickly.
Diplomático Mantuano You can add a drop of water or two to release those flavours, but you can also let it rest for a while to get the same result. Price to quality is good.
Plantation Stiggins‘ Fancy Pineapple Rum