Review: Bermudez Ron Viejo Blanco

Review: Bermudez Ron Viejo Blanco 88/100
a review by Chip Dykstra (Aka Arctic Wolf)
Posted July 29, 2010

Introduction

This is the fourth review I am publishing with respect to the rums of Ron Bermudez. I previously reviewed the Ron Anejo Bermudez 5 Anos; the Bermudez Don Armando; and the Bermudez Anniversario upon my blog using sample bottles provided to my by J. Ernesto Orozco of  Biwest Imports Ltd.  My sample bottle of the Bermudez Ron Viejo Blanco rum was also supplied by Biwest Imports Ltd., as they are introducing the Bermudez rums into my home Province of Alberta.

The Bermudez Distillery is the oldest commercial rum distillery in the Dominican Republic.  The words on the bottle  ‘Viejo Blanco’ translate from Spanish to English as ‘Old White’, indicating to me that the Bermudez rum is an aged clear rum.  Exactly how old I am not sure, but I expect, based upon the particular wording used here, that the rum is aged anywhere from 1/2 year to 3 years.

In the Bottle 4/5

The Viejo Blanco arrives in a tall, clear, flagon style bottle bearing a simple white label with strong easy to read black and red fonts.  My bottle is entirely in Spanish, but as indicated above, I can roughly translate the Viejo Blanco name to discern some information as to the rum’s age.  I can also clearly see that this rum is bottled at 40 % alcohol by volume. A gold foil sits atop the pressed on screw at the top of the bottle.  The display is rather simplistic; but, for an entry-level rum it is acceptable.

In the Glass 8.5/10

In my glass, the rum is a very pale brown  colour which when held up to the light displays a greenish tint.  The colour is very reminiscent of reposado tequila which has not been coloured with caramel.  I am not sure whether this indicates a spirit which was ‘rested’ in oak a brief time, without any charcoal filtering, or whether the spirits was aged longer in oak but not filtered to be almost clear. In my experience the colour of the Viejo Blanco is unusual for this category of rum.

A very gentle toffee/molasses rises out of the glass followed by a soft waft of oak spice, banana and orange peel. I allowed the glass to breathe for about two minutes, and I was rewarded with the inviting scent of brown sugar and cinnamon baking spice. The aroma was much nicer than I was anticipating. There is very little harshness or medicinal quality in the aroma from the glass.  I also did not detect any of the vegetal tones are reminiscent of a very young spirit.  My thoughts here are that the rum displays a nose which is more consistent with an 3-year-old rum than one which has been aged less than a 1 year.

When I swirled the rum, I noticed a little smooth oil on the side of the glass.  As I watched, small droplets of rum formed and began to slide down the side of the glass.  I nosed the glass one last time, and the fully decanted rum had become more heavily scented with a spicy toffee aroma with firmer accents of citrus.

In the Mouth 54/60

The Bermudez Ron Viejo is very similar in taste profile to the Bermudez Don Armando which I reviewed earlier.  It is not quite as suave and smooth as the 10-year-old, but is it perhaps one of the smoothest ‘blanco’ rums I have encountered to date.  It is slightly sweet in the mouth, but still carries enough spice to warm the tonsils.

The main characteristics of flavour are a firm but light oak spice, a mellow butterscotch, a hint of orange peel, dabs of cinnamon, and perhaps a smidgen of Apricot brandy. Perhaps the apricot flavour was imagined, but I seemed to find it resting with light oak spices.

In the Throat  12.5/15

The rum has a smooth exit leaving a nice light toffee and citrus spice on the back of my palate.  The burn was strong enough to warm my throat, but there was not enough burn to be uncomfortable. A lack of bitterness capped the experience, which is exactly how I like my rum to finish.

The Afterburn 9/10

The Bermudez Ron Viejo Blanco was an unexpected surprise.  I arranged for my rum club to be given a sample bottle for testing and sampling, and although many of the members will typically wince when tasting a white rum, the reaction to the Bermudez Viejo Blanco was very different.  Unanimously (20 different persons tasting), the feeling was that this rum was much more similar to an aged rum than a white rum.  I even caught glimpses of some members slipping back to the bottle to steal a second sample even though we also had much older bottles to sample from that evening. These experiences confirmed my believe that this is no ordinary blanco rum; it is a nice smooth rum with a gentle flavour profile which can hold its own with older rums.

When I mixed the Viejo Blanco with a splash of Coca Cola, it was wonderful, and when I mixed it with various fruit combinations, I was always happy with the result. It is a very versatile mixing rum with the added benefit that it be enjoyed neat, or with a little ice if mixing isn’t your style.

If you are interested in comparing more scores, here is a link to my other published Rum Reviews.

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Suggested Recipes:

I was in a creative mood and wanted to try a daiquiri style drink with this rum using lime and pineapple and I came up with what I call the

Ron Bermudez Pineapple Daiquiri

1  1/2 oz Bermudez Ron Viejo Blanco
juice from 1/2 Lime
1/2 oz pineapple syrup
ice
Pineapple for garnish

Place the first three ingredients in a metal shake with ice
Shake until the sides of the metal shaker are well frosted
Strain into a cocktail glass

Garnish with a chunk or slice of Pineapple

The first one was so good that I decided to make another.  Then I decided I wanted something just a little taller in the glass and so I added the ice from the shaker and lengthened the cocktail with soda.  I call this long drink, The Gentle Hammock, because that was where I spent my afternoon enjoying several nice tall ones.

The Gentle Hammock

1  1/2 oz Bermudez Ron Viejo Blanco
juice from 1/2 Lime
1/2 oz pineapple syrup
ice

Soda
Pineapple for garnish

Place the first three ingredients in a metal shake with ice
Shake until the sides of the metal shaker are well frosted
Strain into a cocktail glass
Lengthen with soda (I used Sprite)

Garnish with a chunk or slice of Pineapple

Definitely a nice tall refreshing drink for relaxing in the backyard hammock when the sun is warm and the afternoon is lazy.

And always remember, my aim is not to have you drink more, it is to have you drink better!

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My Final Score is out of 100 and you may (loosely) interpret the score 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)