April! the turning month of better weather, land of the Taurus, April fools day and coincidently the month of my birthday. I had anticipated enjoying this years on sabbatical, I would have been in Peru by now but alas lockdown has changed that... it can't however stop me trying rum.
As its my birthday I thought it would be nice to splash out (get someone else to) on a limited edition rum, roll up Augostura No.1 cask collection, the French Oak limited edition.
Angostura is produced on the islands of Trinidad and Tobago and is in fact the last remaining distillery on the island. Most will recognise the name as the number one bitters sold around the world. Angostura are certainly not new to rum though with its distinguished bottle and popular 1919 rum which is widely available.
The No.1 Cask Collection started in 2013 with its first limited edition batch of premium rum. Despite the name this is in fact the 2nd edition.
The rum is first aged for 10 years in once used American oak casks. Its then blended and re-casked into used French cognac barrels for a further 6 years. The rum is finally bottled at 40% vol (80 proof) into only 15,030 bottles.
I LOVE this bottle shape, like the original 1919 which has sadly moved on. The square shape, blue and gold label and thick wooden cork stopper just makes it all looks the part. The top when first corked delivers a lovely deep squeak... Top marks for packaging.
Smell: The initial smell is sweet followed by a lovely blend of chocolate, molasses, oak and cognac all coming through. I was expecting citrus but never got it.
Appearance: A light amber colour in the glass, combined with the smell and i'm definitely looking forward to it. Disappointed however to see a viscous liquid with legs suggesting sugar has been added.
Taste: Yep it's definitely a sweet rum, quite smooth but it does have a good little after kick. Nice and juicy as well with fruity flavours coming through. A nice blend but I do feel a little cheated if sugar has been added.
Rating: 3/5... Despite the score, it's a limited edition! so worth a purchase.
This will go really nicely in an Apricot Caipirissima as the sweet, fruity flavours will balance off the citrus. Too much faff, enjoy over ice in the sun.
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