Plantation Overproof O.F.T.D.

Since Lemon Hart Demerara 151 is so hard to find these days, the goal of this panel who created this great overproof rum had to be to come up with a replacement. I have not had Lemon Hart in more than a quarter of a century and am so glad that this group of old salts succeeded on this one. They have every right to be mighty proud of this, and their pictures and the story are on the back of this bottle. I understand that this one is a blend of 17 different rums from the countries mentioned on the bottle. How on earth can they keep the cost on this so low is beyond what I can imagine.

As usual, I take the first sip of any new rum neat. Wooah!!! Talk about an alcohol kick! Then I added ice cubes and let it sit for a while. That is when it really shines and shows itself to be a truly great mixer. If a rum is good enough on the rocks or neat, then it is good enough for mixing (unless it is too expensive). This one is very reasonably priced. No point in me reiterating the flavor profile and tasting notes, but if you like rich dark rums on the rocks with hints of West Indies spices, then this one needs to be in your collection.

Because it is of such high proof, it stayed in my liquor cabinet for quite some time, as to be feared. Well the day came when it was time to kill some kind of internal illness, so I started out with 3 parts OFTD and 1 part spring water. Goodness gracious! I could sip on this combination all day with no need to add anything else. Similar to barrel proof bourbons, one buys them with full intentions of adding minimal amounts of water to what they can handle. I would say that this tastes so good that one should never use it as a mixer, but hell, it is cheap enough to use as a mixer or as a floater in tiki drinks that it was intended for. It is quite versatile and affordable! This is also one of the VERY FEW overproof rums that can be sipped neat, but SLOWLY! Also, adding some chilled coconut water to the snifter is also another great way to enjoy this rum. And OFTD really stands for Oh F..k That's Delicious, which is what this panel first used to describe it. They later changed it to more PC term.

And when it comes to best bang for one's bucks, this one is at the top of my list and just above Blackwell's Reserve. Since this one is so easy to find, it rates at the top of my list if I only had one rum to choose for the rest of my life!

And for those who cannot get a hold of the Hamilton Florida Rum Society at 90 proof, this one is a close second as for best rums to buy under $30 US.

Update January 2022: I wound up with COVID Omicron. Don't ask how I know for sure that I got it. Symptoms appeared two days after being exposed to it. At any rate, I have used this rum as throat cleaner during the pandemic. Omicron caused by entire esophagus to itch like never before. I poured an ounce of OFTD into a Glencairn glass. I sipped the first half of it neat. I could feel the itching disappear as it worked it's way to my stomach, but not all was gone at once. The second sip finished off the itching. I figured this was the end of Omicron for me. Nope! That night, I wound up with extreme fatigue and low grade fever. This lasted for two days and then it was gone. It helped that I was also vaccinated and boostered. All the more reason to always keep this rum on hand!