Cayman Reef 5-Year

Too young to be a sipper. Not the best mixer. Very forgettable, especially as it’s priced slightly higher than similar rums.

I tried this rum after enjoying the Cayman Reef Double Black which has become one of my favorites. I like the sweet taste and aroma of it and though it might not be a sipper it does mix well with anything you prefer. Great price too.

A sweet nose when I opened the bottle, a hint of what I thought was plum on one occasion. The drinks starts slightly sweet with woody notes. There was a slight burn going down, but overall was pretty smooth. Overall I found that this rum was not overly complex and pretty good in a mix.

Sampled this Cayman Reef 5 yr rum and was pleasantly surprised by the dryness, oakiness and slight sweetness of the rum. Not the best but given its price it is nevertheless a great value.

I have ignored this rum for a very long time thinking that it was all a gimmick. Well today, it stared at me on the shelf like a puppy waiting to be adopted from the shelter. It was as if it was saying, "Please take me home! You know you can afford my $17 price tag!". Being that it has no added sugar as per Barbados law and is a dark 5 year rum at a budget price, I brought this puppy home and am so glad that I did.

What a pleasant surprise! It is natural sweetness with no charred oak taste. It is cheap enough to drink too much without feeling guilty. With no added sugar, this also means no penalties for the next day. I can add this one to my best buy recommendations. In a side by side taste test with other aged budget rums, this one beat out Cockspur 5 Star, Don Q Anejo, and Flor de Cana 5 Year Classico Anejo. I like all four of them, but Cayman Reef is the darkest and best tasting one.

Upon further research, I could find absolutely nothing to prove that it is a 100 percent product of Barbados. I have reason to believe that kegs of Bajan rum were shipped elsewhere to the Caribbean and then bottled with a few additives that are not allowed in Barbados. The shape of the bottle is amazingly similar to El Dorado 8. Maybe these were bottled in Guyana. I seriously doubt that they were bottled in Grand Cayman because there is no way that this low price could come from that very expensive island. The website for Grand Cayman rums also does not show these rums called Cayman Reef. Normally, deceptive origins on rums would cause me to lower my rating by a point. However, this one is so damn good and cheap that I won't do that for this one.

Update March 26, 2019: This bottle was opened up about two months ago with only about two ounces missing. So I tried this "old friend" again on this gorgeous day, and my impression was, "What in hell is this shit?". Since it is considered to be a dry rum, I figured that the flavors would never change. Boy was I wrong! Artificial flavoring is probably to blame for rearing it's ugly head on this one. I lowered my rating from a 7 to a 6 and would think twice about buying this one again. If you do buy a bottle, use it up in one month or less because it is not completely dry.

Bon pour faire des drink, pas un rhum de dégustation.

This is a pretty decent rum for a 5 year. Especially for the low price that it is set at. It is rather decent with an ice cube. It also makes a rather good mixing rum. However, for close to the same price you can grab the Spiced Rum from Cayman Reef, which in my opinion is better.

Not bad for the price if you get it for $25. Otherwise stay clear, there are much better rums out there to try. Ok for mixing, not really smooth enough to drink on ice.

Good rum, and pleasantly good quality. Run of the mill aged rum.

Similar taste to other similarly priced Barbados rums such as mount gay. Probably a good mixer rum. Has a bit of a burn after going down neat, but not too strong