Angostura 1919 8-Year

I got a bottle of this as a gift and had high hopes. As I have always stated I am no connoisseur, but I drink aged rum regularly on the rocks. While definitely a good rum I felt it was about equivalent to Bacardi 8 at a significantly higher price. As a result I can't rate it as high.

I was expecting something richer and more complex. Actually this is quite a light rum with subtleties that only come out if you leave the rum to stand for at least 10 minutes. Straight out of the bottle it's a bit disappointing and even slightly harsh. It has a dry start and a sweet finish, which is interesting. After standing, you can certainly smell vanilla and caramel. It's quite a think oily texture which I am not sure if I like or not and there' s a slight hint of white chocolate and maybe apricot. It's very thin and one of the least viscous and thick rums I've had - it almost has the texture of brandy. I'd say it was a very atypical rum and if I wanted someone who had never tasted rum to understand what it was from offering them a sip from a handful of bottles, this would never get near that list.

It's actually quite expensive for what it is and there are rums which are at least £5 cheaper which are just as good or better - I'm thinking Plantation Barbados 5 and Doorlys XO straight off.
Nevertheless it's ok with quite a lot of distinctive characteristics. It's probably at it's best with a couple of ice cubes after it's stood for 10 mins. I don't think it's quite as good neat as some other similar priced rums, but it does have a fair bit of character that that's worth taking time over.

I find the 1919 Angostura a good rhum for its price...

Un rhum facile à boire, facile à appréhender avec une longueur intéressante sur le caramel. Quand on veut pas s’embêter à réfléchir 18 minutes sur la complexité de son verre ou quand les copains veulent "un rhum pour l'apéro qui va bien avec les pistaches". Dans sa catégorie il tient le haut du pavé.

Better than the 7 year old angostura, hints of caramel mostly, but also this quite uncomforting taste of gasoil, not my cup of tea, better than the 7 year old though

Fairly dry, slightly spicy rum with hints of smoke. Just about ok for sipping

I really enjoyed this rum. At first I thought the molasses was a bit much but there is a lot going on in the rum. Straight up on ice.

J'aime vraiment bien ce rhum, assz doux mais beaucoup d'arome comme la vanille

Zoete rum met vanille nasmaak. Ik mooie fles voor goede prijs. After diner rum 😊

At the tasting, the pourer skipped the 5 and 7-years and went straight to this. It tastes about as you would expect... caramel, hint of tobacco. Could serve well as an upscale mixer or easy sipper.

Interestingly, the pourer stressed that Angostura adds no color or sweeteners to their rum, which I believe is commonly known to be untrue. I'd like to dock a point for uninformed/misleading brand ambassadors, but this really is a rum with no surprises, and holds its own.

Might I suggest a 2070 Swizzle?

7, 7+