Koloa Dark

Smooth with strong vanilla hint, a bit sweet but tasty.

Smooth mixer, as good as any other. Nothing distinctive.

I try to drink local wherever I go, so in Kauai, I go with Koloa rums. The Dark is good: smooth, easy drinking over ice and mixable. It avoids becoming too sweet or chewy. However, it doesn't go deep: it lacks the overtones of molasses and vanilla of a great dark rum.
Worth the purchase, but not outstanding.

This is a tasty rum… very vanilla forward (probably was adulterated with vanilla bean and therefore should be in the spiced rum category). Notes of leather and tobacco in amongst the vanilla. Some caramel but a light astringent finish. Would be good for mixing.

Sugar: 28 GPL. Surprisingly good rum at a reasonable price ($35. USD)
Normally, dark rums are for mixing and you wouldn't think of sipping them as most are "well rums" but this rum surprised and impressed me. I found tastes of vanilla, chocolate,coffee, and caramel are present but the coffee and chocolate are predominant. This is a smooth rum that finishes with just the right amount of heat. I would suggest this is the best dark rum for mixing out there, but I am going to serve this as a sipping rum. If you like Goslings Family Reserve rum then you will like this one.

This stuff is like the best of EVERYTHING dark!! Aroma carries vanilla, chocolate, coffee, charred wood, licorice and root beer! The taste is not nearly as complex as the nose, but it's still pretty good: it enters with thick, vanilla custard, followed by a surprisingly pronounced cola kick. Then an odd, but somehow appropriate finish of overripe plums shows up with molasses.
Drinking on it's own is fine, but this stuff makes the best gosh darn rum'n'cokes ever!! At $40 a pop, it's expensive as a mixer, but if that old standby is your thing, this is absolutely worth the money!

Had a bottle while vacationing in Oahu. Super balanced vanilla aroma, feels also pretty sweet and round in mouth. Has distinctive Tiki flavours. Obviously there is sugar added, because there were white crystals present in the bottom of the bottle. The sugar thing is a tricky topic - obviously the overall product ahould be achieved just by fermentation, aging and distillation and therefore is debatable whether rums with added sugar are good rums. The Koloa dark in fact is sippable on its own and works very well also in coctails. I have approached sweet rums like these with a mindset that in coctails you can use less sugary beverages instead of coke, juices, syrups etc to keep the overall amount of sugar consumed under control. So an 8 would be too much in terms of the sweet profile but it’s definitely an enjoyable rum on its own and also in mixes. Not sure how the dark profile was achieved because there are very little tannine notes. Added caramel?

Tried at tasting room. Nice, but a bit chemicaly. Probably best for mixing into heavier cocktails than sipping.

Strong with the vanilla flavor, similar to Papas Pilar. A nice mixer.

Pretty much sweetness all the way. That's it. For the price they ask, could be better and more refined.