We know coming to a rum that it likely has better purchase at some sort of festival or gathering, This is partly because at least when it comes to our reviews we have reservations about something from the state of Florida. Here though we get a rum, aged uniquely in bourbon barrels, and it’s okay?
They do however pontificate for far too long, so in the interest of not writing too much and letting our scores sort this here they go:
What they Say: “My name is Jonathan Drew… And I’ve been creating delicious products for my friends to enjoy all over the world since 1996.
From the deepest place in my heart and soul, I love making people happy watching good people come together to share life’s precious moments. Those who know me will probably tell you that nothing rewards me more than to see you smile.
Our story of dove tale rum began in a distant land called Nicaragua where I cut my teeth for 19 years and lived inside my little handmade cigar factory high up in the northern mountains. Although we started with almost nothing hard work and commitment paid off and drew estate eventually became one of the most trusted boutique factories in the world.
It was there in Central America where we created beautiful expressions in taste and aroma crafting our art 100% by hand. Our dream though was to venture beyond the abyss and push the limits in blending the world’s most delicious rum.
Those early years were rough I must admit but through that struggle and pain, we were challenged to truly create mouthwatering divinity and test the boundaries of taste art and craftsmanship.
Dove tale rum is emblematic of those early days of our journey. Sweet & vibrant yet dark & mysterious… A true Florida rum that has been aged 4 long years in spent bourbon barrels.
First, our team selects sugarcane exclusively from the Florida everglades to create blackstrap refiner’s grade molasses. Then it’s distilled and carefully aged in hearty beautiful oak bourbon barrels until our smooth dark rum has developed layers upon layers of sweet caramel goodness.”
Taste: 5.0 – It begins nice and very sweet, almost intoxicatingly sugary. Overall it’s too basic.
Aftertaste: 3.0 – That smooth flavor is replaced almost instantly by awfulness.
Burn/Smooth: 4.0 – It burns like you would expect any sugary concoction would, quite badly. Aside from any connection, this is terrible.
Aroma: 6.0 – Well it’s hard to mistake the need to put this into some bourbon barrels for rum flavor as it clearly benefits from some alteration. It is in parts sweet, but overall – intoxicating.
Honesty: 6.0 – That’s a lot of bullshit text to get us here. It does, however, get us towards something that still feels like some artistic expression of rum and not something to be enjoyed or celebrated. However, despite that minor sea change, we still have to judge it accordingly.
Mixability: 6.0
W/ Rocks: 5.0 – You feel so much of the whiskey/rum that it becomes almost distracting in terms of enjoyment.
Whiskey and Coke: 7.0 – It is delicious, which is worrisome given the input, but still it’s good.
Value: 3.0 – Nope. Sorry, we were on board with this rum well enough until the price tag hit. There’s just no universe in which this 33 dollar spirit becomes worth our time.
Google Shop Average: $33
Website: https://johndrewbrands.com/
Reviewer Scores:
BuffaloJern: 5.0
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Metric Score: 33/70 |+| Metric Average: 4.71 |+| Reviewer Average: 5.0
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Final Thoughts: Overall we are left with something that is average. and despite being a good coke mixer is just too much cash, and too little when it comes to your time. To say that you buy this because it reminds you of art isn’t a negative description, but it is a marker of whether this is well and truly worth your dollars.
