Denizen Merchants Reserve 8-Year

I'm not a fan of this Rum. I'm beginning to think I just don't care for the Jamaican style of Rum.

Great rum! Wonderful nose - floral, fruity, spicy with some Jamaica coming through, and you know it is there in the taste, but not funky. A bit medicinal, baking spice up front, mildly sweet. A pleasant bitterness and earthiness in the finish. Give it some time to stand in the glass, the flavors come out even more. Really unique.

I originally purchased this for Mai Tais (per Smuggler's Cove), and while good, it's not my favorite for that drink (though I intend to try this blended with other rums as I explore this tiki wonder in greater depth), but it makes for a wonderful sipper in my opinion. Worth the price.

This rum truly shines as a sipper and I feel like anything else would be a sin. With that being said, I also think this rum would be a solid replacement for the Wray & Nephew 17 year that was used in the original painkiller. This rum has the perfect balance of oak, fruit sweetness, and a finish of grass from the 20% agricole. Do yourself a favor and just grab 2 bottles from the next liquor store you find it. You’ll be glad you did.

Exceptional value for the price - easily recognizable as versatile mixed or on it’s own. U forward without being overbearing - ripe, banana funk but not “in your face” about it. I expected the argicole to shine through, but since it’s made from molasses rather than juice, it takes a much more nuanced approach - earthy notes in the background, rather than grassy up front. Well blended and fine, especially given it’s comparatively low entry price. I enjoyed their 100 proof vatted dark for it’s application in mixed drinks, but this is a cut above for sure. A fine addition to any collection

Smooth. I could drink it for breakfast. Notes of vanilla etc but it’s mild
Mine says 80% Jamaican and 20% Martinique … description says Trinidad
It’s weird because the smell is almost like a Mai tai without any other ingredients, to me.
This is what it’s meant for actually. But it’s like you get the smell and then the flavor is clean.

Through another Rum Rater's recommendation for reading material, I'm now engrossed in Martin Cate's Smuggler's Cove tiki cult book. SO, I had to order a bottle of Cate's collaboratively-blended Denizen Merchant Reserve 8 Yr, his re-creation of the rum originally used by Trader Vic Bergeron in creating the Mai Tai back in 1944, before the original rum became unavailable. I haven't tasted a Mai Tai since I was a punk sailor on liberty in Honolulu 50 years ago--at Trader Vic's--and my interest has been rekindled. I still haven't tried it in a Mai Tai but just attempted it neat and couldn't go there, so I added a rock and a splash of soda to reveal the flavor and dilute it a bit...it is indeed a funky blend and it's screaming for an added shot of lime juice...it's sweet, bitter, dry and VERY fruity all at the same time...others have mentioned rotten bananas and I pick that up immediately. I'll have to think this one over...I want to see how it mixes, for me it's not a pleasurable sipper just yet but still it's somehow intriguing. I'm still learning that all rums are unique unto themselves, but even so this one stands out as something different. It's a blend of Jamaican and Agricole, not for the faint of heart, and it's truly weird. I'm not knocking it, just sayin'....

Great aroma of Jamaican esters mixed with oak citrus. Great taste of fresh bananas, oak, and barrel spices. Overall a great rum.

It's fairly smooth, is semi-sweet and definitely decent.

Yes yes, Martin Cate helped recreate a rum that has long been depleted to use in a Mai Tai, but this is so much more. What an odd marriage between a Jamaican Pot and a Rhum Grande Arome. That French style Rhum though is a little harder to come by. Not an Agricole, molasses based. Very strong aroma and flavor from that. It’s a dirty dunder Rhum and it’s amazing.

I’m new to the rum world and like many, I found Denizen M.R.8 via tiki sage Martin Cate’s excellent Smuggler's Cove book. As a Mai Tai fan, I was intrigued Cate had worked to reverse engineer the approximate taste of the original rums in the original ‘44 version. I don’t have enough rum experience to compare with others, but FWIW I did find it very enjoyable and satisfying to drink in my Mai Tai. Cheers!