Diplomático Añejo

Review: Diplomatico Anejo Rum 89/100
a review by Chip Dykstra (AKA Arctic Wolf)
Posted October 2009

In the Bottle (4.0/5)

I like the short squat bottle.  If we had a cork instead of a screw cap,  I would score this a 5.

In the Glass (9.0/10)

Nutty (hazelnut and walnut) aroma mixed with cinnamon and brown sugar. The rum has a dark atmosphere in the glass and more a brooding aroma than the Exclusiva Reserva even though the spirit is lighter.

In the Mouth (54.0/60)

This is slightly sweet and a just a touch harsh due to the young(ish) age. I taste nutty caramel, brown sugar, and cinnamon with butter.  I also tastes a bit of Amaretto like flavour on my palate. There is a backbite of spice almost like a sudden infusion of allspice at the end of the flavour.  This is still very good, and if we had a little more balance here I could rate this even higher.

In the Throat (13.5/15)

I like the finish, but find my throat assaulted by a roughness from spices that are still battling down the throat into the stomach. I do not mind as this it is actually mildly invigorating.  There is a just a touch of  bitterness mixed in here that acts as a minor distraction.

The Afterburn (8.5/10)

I found I really liked this rum; but I could never really enjoy it as much as I did the Diplomatico Exclusiva Reserva. It is like the precocious younger sister of your girlfriend who has her charm but is just a little too immature to take seriously. Although,  as I drink this more and more often that younger sister begins to appeal to me more and more…

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You may (loosely) interpret the scores as follows.

0-25     A spirit with a rating this low would actually kill you.
26-49   Depending upon your fortitude you might actually survive this.
50 -59  You are safe to drink this…but you shouldn’t.
60-69   Substandard swill which you may offer to people you do not want to see again.
70-74    Now we have a fair mixing rum or whisky.  Accept this but make sure it is mixed into a cocktail.
75-79    You may begin to serve this to friends, again probably still cocktail territory.
80-84    We begin to enjoy this spirit neat or on the rocks. (I will still primarily mix cocktails)
85-89    Excellent for sipping or for mixing!
90-94    Definitely a primary sipping spirit, in fact you may want to hoard this for yourself.
95-97.5 The Cream of the Crop
98+       I haven’t met this bottle yet…but I want to.

Very loosely we may put my scores into terms that you may be familiar with on a Gold, Silver, and  Bronze medal  scale as follows:

70 – 79.5    Bronze Medal (Recommended only as a mixer)
80 – 89.5     Silver Medal (Recommended for sipping and or a high quality mixer)
90 – 95         Gold Medal (Highly recommended for sipping and for sublime cocktails.)
95.5+            Platinum Award (Highest Recommendation)