Plantation Overproof O.F.T.D.

Great depth. Not as sweet as I was expecting. Would be great in an old fashioned.

This has become my favorite sipper on ice. I find it doesn’t play nice with others in cocktails, with exception. It does make a mean mai tai, but I like it best over a big fat single ice cube as a pre bedtime treat or after dinner digestif. Also, the story on the bottle gets extra points. Keep on killin it plantation.

- taste: 69/100
- value for money: 67/100
- score: 68/100
- price: arround 30 eur

Initially not impressed with this rum's burnt flavors. The more I sampled, the more the molasses flavoring came out. Over timeI will see if it merits a higher rating than the 4.5 that I gave it on my scale.

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!

Nice flavor up front followed by the alcohol ovenproof.

Thicker than most rums, stays with you for awhile. Dark, almost chocolately flavor. Medium smooth, full mouth feel.

I don't normally drink my rum on the rocks but this over proof was an easy sipper. Caramel, vanilla, nutmeg and new oak were some of the flavors to come through.

Without question this is aimed at the tiki resurgence that has steadily been picking up steam. Really whats not to like about tiki as long as it's not exclusive. Yeah,,,,, well as with anything retro especially those things dealing in specific styles, some folks dive in head first and others see ways to turn a profit. There's no telling to what ends an obsessed time traveler will spend in order to out do their fellow club members. Fortunately everyone benefits from such escapism, at least in this case we all do.

If you love funky estery dunder rum such as Smith and Cross to the point that you consider it a fine sipper, as I, but sometimes wish it had a bit more smoke and more molasses.... this may just get you there. By every account of the marketing jargon it's primary target will have you floating it in a delicious concoction. BUT WAIT! it ain't a bad sipper, though I do get a nagging bit of sacrine in the finish. Not so mach as to be a deal breaker by any means. Really what can you ask for in a 69% abv dark full liter bottle of rum priced at $30? I didn't expect this much so I'm happy.
BTW on the label they have lovingly supplied us with a nose and flavor profile just to the right of the R. Crumb like profile illustrations depicting those involved in this achievement. I'd say they left out a huge dose of black licorice. But hey that just my palate.