We had a thought looking at the tag of this rum, and it was – oh like an evidence tag used to identify the poison that killed the Mr. Cottonsword. How prophetic we were. We always strive to find the diamond in the rough, but because such a thing is possible there’s always the wasp in the beehive. Hold on not sure if this metaphor is working.
What we mean is something that looks like it should be good, but no amount of surrounding it in sweetness can hide this stings in the throat and brain. It burns, and sickening to the taste. Any notion of spice or enjoyment is far, far away.
What they Say: “In the spirit of the rum-running schooner Kirk and Sweeney, this rum is well worth pursuing. Made with sugar cane and aged in oak barrels for 12 Years, Kirk and Sweeney show a rich mahogany color, smoothly capturing a complex range of flavors, from earthy sugar cane and dried fruit to vanilla and toasted oak.”
Taste: 4.0 – It’s sickeningly sweet. It tastes almost like some sort of antidote or consultation from a backstreet apothecary.
Aftertaste: 2.0 – Here it tastes almost exactly like a rum. That slight burn and overall feeling of charcoal. This is not good.
Burn/Smooth: 2.5 – Ahhhh, that fucken burns. even the taste part becomes a section of how smooth this goes down, and spoilers – it’s not well.
Aroma: 4.5 – It’s cloyingly how sweet this smells. Like brown sugar on-top of a rum cake. It’s honestly so easy to detect that you might as well bake with it, which is actually a good idea.
Honesty: 4.0 – The bottle is very good, and that text isn’t so far off it becomes an issue. It looks nice, and while the label is more descriptive – it feels weak.
Mixability: 3.5
W/ Rocks: 1.5 – OH MAN. That is some strong flavor, it’s fucken terrible.
Rum and Coke: 5.5 – It’s okay. There is clearly some aspect of the rum that works, but overall the coke thankfully cancels some of the rum.
Value: 2.0 – It does not taste like thirty-four American dollars. That being said no price could really exemplify the value here, and overall it should be thought of as nothing.
Google Shop Average: $34
Website: http://www.kirkandsweeneyrum.com/
Reviewer Scores:
BuffaloJern: 3.0
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Metric Score: 22.5/70 |+| Metric Average: 3.21 |+| Reviewer Average: 3.0
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Final Thoughts: Well messers Kirk and Sweeney – we regret to inform you that we also regret buying your rum. Are final regret though would be that you dear reader fall victim to the same trap, and hope that by seeing this you’ll have been warned away.
I must admit that I was taken in by the packaging and the price. I have been sipping Cap’n Morgan’s Private Stock and was looking for something else to add to my repertoire. I whole heartedly agree with your summations. This rum tastes more like a Bourbon than a Rum. I do not care for the oakey flavorings, especially in a Rum.
Glad to see I am not the only one that doesnt like this relatively expensive rum.