Carta Vieja Golden Cask 18-Year

This rum starts out very nice when you see the unique decanteresque bottle. However, the rum is not as pleasing as the glass looks to the eye. The solera method and the 18 year is kind of misleading because you are led to believe that this is a rum aged for 18 years and thus must be very complex and superb in quality.
Unfortunately, this Panamanian rum doesn’t achieve those superlatives. Oak, vanilla, baking spices some dried fruit and somewhat drier than other Carta Vieja offerings.
Yes, this can be sipped neat or mixed, it’s just for the price, their are other go to rums that are better suited and of higher quality and taste to be enjoyed.

Fruity whisky masking itself as rum. For whisky lovers out there.

I returned to a favorite liquor store to stock up on more of the Carta Vieja 8 Anos rum. It is an almost perfect balance of wood and natural sweetness, with a low cost to boot. So I plunked down $50 US for this bottle, knowing very well that it is an 18 Year Solera rum.

Side by side in Glencairn glasses, both rums are similar except that this one has more flavors and smooths out the few remaining harsh edges found in the 8 year. As usual, I let each new rum breathe before sipping it to rate it. It came in very high in my overall rankings and deserves my rating of a 9. This was money well spent! I normally hate heavily oaked rums, but this one is well balanced with the tropical fruit flavors, so that one can still tell that they are drinking a fine rum,

It has also edged out my Plantation XO 20th Anniversary in a side by side taste test. No easy feat, but I happen to like the very well represented flavors of wood and leather on this one. The Plantation XO rum has 24 gpl of added sugar and this Carta Vieja Golden Cask has only 7 gpl of added sugar. I am sure that this played a factor into my final judgment.

Update August 10. 2019: I finally found another bottle of this great rum and had several premium empty bottles stashed away to transfer the contents to if needed. To my pleasant surprise, the cork has been redesigned from the extremely tight fitting one to almost perfect. This means that the top of the bottle now has much less chance of breaking when corking it back up. Whatever, I am thankful for the improvement in cork design and this rum still tastes great!

Update February 18. 2021: My latest bottle tastes way too much like oak so I have no choice except to lower my rating from an 8 to a 7

After trying the three 15 year old Abuelo double aged rums my bartender in Panama wanted my opinion on Carta Viera. Beautiful cut glass bottle I was expecting gold heavenly elixir. This was a fine stand alone rum but did not stand up the the three Abuelo 15 year double aged. Lighter gold color mild alcohol scent, pleasing but not the bomb. Worth trying just not enough depth.

Alcohol forward nose of sea? Taste is dry and bitter not what i would think of panama, medium burn you can taste the oak wood finish burns a bit

It’s sippable but I like to make rum Old Fashioneds with it. This plus a dark agricole and a tiny but of honey, one dash Ango. Because I see that as making the best use of the whisky taste.
Straight, I get sweet and maybe chocolate, both within the right amounts. Very clean , just a little heat, not much lingering flavors.
Bought a bottle duty free in Panama