Would a rum by any other name tastes as sweet? We have no idea, because this barely even has a name (just the enigmatic 896), and is to us a ghost. No text, no identifiers, no website – it merely exists. This causes complications for us. One the hand we promote that you let the contents of the bottle do the real talking, on the other we feel you should at the very least stand by your work. If however you don’t frankly care about that – the good news is this is a pretty decent rum for not a lot of money.
Sure it’s a bit on the sweeter side, and it’s more a dark (but not too dark) rum instead of a spiced which you’d assume based on color. But yes it mixes well, and is even okay neat. The closest comparison we can get is akin to Old Monk – which is a bit pricier (but oh ho so much better).
What they Say: “Aged Five Years”
Taste: 7.0 – You get some caramel, a bit of spice, a bit of smoke, and it’s overall nice.
Aftertaste: 4.0 – But then it devolves into more and more sweetness, and as it goes on it becomes more ‘pure’ in terms of sugar, which isn’t great.
Burn/Smooth: 5.5 – Between the mid burn and the awful awful sweetness – this does not go down ‘smooth’. Oh sure it seems to do well here, but that’s more a condemnation of other rums
Aroma: 6.0 – So it certainly smells more aged than spiced compared to what one would expect given the color. There is still that rum sweetness there that almost makes you regret choices.
Honesty: 0.0 – Normally we would be all over a bottle that looks nice, let’s the contents do the talking, and makes no crimes. However then we dug deeper. We went to look into who makes this, who’s website we could place – and the answer is a mystery. Sure we know it’s a blend of rums no younger than 5 years, and yes it’s a brand you are sure to find at Total Wine, but there’s no info on where this comes from, and that means this is a ghost – a mystery, or to put it bluntly – not honest. It gets no points whatsover here.
Mixability: 7.25
W/ Rocks: 7.0 – You actually get a lot more flavor here, a bit less of the sweetness (although it’s still there). It’s not even close to say Private Stock, but on the rocks is a much better option.
Rum and Coke: 7.5 – You get some of the flavor, the sweetness hits just right here (don’t use Pepsi) and sure enough adding a lime wedge makes a damn near fantastic Cuba Libre. Overall very well done.
Value: 6.0 – You know – yeah. Trying to think of a rum that’s not darker or lighter, but is good and in this price range turns up very little. Even Old Monk is a full 7 dollars or 50% more expensive, so yeah. Sure it’s a mystery rum made from who knows where and only available in certain stores – but if you are looking for a budget rum that ‘works’ this is fine.
Google Shop Average: $15
Website: https://www.totalwine.com/
Reviewer Scores:
BuffaloJern: 5.0
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Metric Score: 35.75/70 |+| Metric Average: 5.11 |+| Reviewer Average: 5.0
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Final Thoughts: If you have a problem, if no one else can help, and if you can find them at your nearest Total Wine….maybe you can buy the 896. As for whether you should – it’s a resounding yes. Having a rum that doesn’t break the bank, and doesn’t break your brain with it’s awful burn and sugary mess is a hard thing to come buy. Sure there’s better rums out there for multiple reasons, but if 15 bucks is as high as you’ll go – then you could do far, far worse than a complete mystery.
