The days of your average run of the mill mixing rums are coming to a standstill and the reign of sipping rums is taking over. Don’t get me wrong, there certainly is a time and place for spiced rum and white rum (can’t forget about the mojito) but nothing beats a snifter or tumbler full of nice sipping rum. If you are new to rum and don’t know where to begin or are a sipping rum veteran, the Diplomatico Reserva Exclusiva is a must try spirit.
Diplomatico has been distilling rum since 1959 in the Planas Valley, Venezuela. The Planas Valley rests deep in the Andes and is the perfect place to distill quality rum. The rich soil is great for growing sugar cane and the warm humid days and cool nights are perfect conditions for barrel aging. To make the Reserva Exclusiva, Diplomatico first combines a mixture of molasses and harvested honey from their own sugar cane crop and distills it in copper pot stills. After distillation the clear rum is then aged in small oak casks for roughly twelve years adding layers of complexity and smoothness. On the nose this rum is very pleasant and almost aromatic. Hints of vanilla blossom rest gently over a layer of crushed walnuts. As the spirit breathes, it releases a distinct orange succulence that is reminiscent of those orange flavored freeze pops that we’d get as children for a summertime treat. On the palate is where this rum truly shines as it comes across smooth and luscious with hardly any bite at all. Flavors of caramelized brown sugar and vanilla wafers dominate your palate at first. As it settles in, warmer morsels of walnut covered toffee and pleasantly burnt orange blankets your mouth. The rum finishes incredibly smooth with little to no heat almost making you forget it was 80proof.
The Diplomatico Reserva Exclusiva is certainly not the stereotypical rum you see pirates forcing themselves to gulp down in movies. This rum deserves time to be enjoyed, to be sipped slowly so you can really appreciate all that it has to offer. If you are looking to get into sipping rums this Diplomatico is the perfect choice and easy on the wallet too.
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