Abuelo Reserva Superior 7-Year

On the rocks: smooth, semi-dry yet not sugary, delicate taste of molasses, medium body. An excellent product at a civilized price.

Don't make any mistake, this undeniably is a rum, the aroma is in fact very typical of a rum, the taste is little spicy and quite strong but it isn't a nasty burn, I can taste nuts, vanilla, maybe even slight note of cinnamon, all still packing good punch. There is also a little hint of banana peel as the rum comes down the throat, but all the tastes are simply mixed with a rather strong alcohol taste, it isn't disgusting but it still is enough of a nuisance to lower the score. Not much more to say about this one, apart from it not being too sweet and or too complicated, with little aftertaste and lingering. Solid rum for the price, but no award winner.

I was running out of rums to try that are both readily available and priced sensibly. Fifteen months ago, I reviewed it's 12 year old brother that cost $29 US back then. I rated it as a 5 and it now costs $45 US. So this here younger brother has half of the added sugar as the 12 year old and is now priced at $30 US. This is 15 gpl versus 29 gpl, which makes this one semi-dry and the 12 year being almost enough to qualify as a sugar bomb.

I was hesitant to buy until I found out that it can either be made from cane juice or combined as molasses and cane juice for the fermentation process, depending upon the season. Well down here in south Louisiana, cane cutting time is in October after the rainy season has allowed the cane to grow. I don't know when the rainy season for Panama is, but I was hoping that they would be more specific in stating whether or not it is made from 100% cane juice. Lucky for me, I understand a fair amount of Spanish and noticed two slightly different explanations on the side of the gift box. So my rum is indeed made from "mieles de cana" (cane honey) with no mention of molasses, as noted in the Spanish explanation. After seven years of aging in white oak barrels, I do not notice any floral or grassy accents found in most rhum agricoles, nor do I detect any molasses. So the Spanish statement is true, but the English statement is shortened quite a bit.

When first poured into the snifter, the aroma tells that this is a good rum and it needs no time at all to breathe. The taste is quite smooth with a bare minimum of oakiness. There is no after burn at all. This is a very good rum, but just does not have enough of those additional flavors that one finds in rum rated 8 or higher. This one is a neat sipper! I seriously doubt that I will lower my rating after a few weeks in the bottle and I am very glad that I took a chance on it. After it's 12 year older brother, I had sworn off Ron Abuelo. Never say never!

I bought this bottle for 34.00 CHF (USD and CHF are about equal at this time)
I love this Rum...
The highlight is the nose: vanilla, oak, some honey, overall pretty sweet and smooth but not boring at all...
Tast: very smoth and a bit oily, very well balanced. Oak, vanilla, a hint of white pepper, nothing bitter and a tiny hint of smoke. Wonderfull
The finish is short, not dry but also not too sweet: a bit of oak some vanilla, very little afterburn...

I bought a bottle of Angostura 7 for the same price. Very disappointing, boring and really flat even for a 7 year old.
The Abuelo is a way better Rum for that price range.
A good purchase for sure...

A spicy and complex taste. I like it better than the 12 years old.

man schmeckt den unterschied nur im direktvergleich von abuelo 7 und 12 anos.
für mich nur zum mixen sonst sind sie mir zu wenig süss und leicht bitter.
abuelo hat ein sehr eigner geschmack schmekt man auch sofort aus einem gemixten drink raus das abuelo drin steckt! in mixed drink mag ich ihn sehr gern!

I wasn't impress. Just ok. It was a present so i font know if is eorth it the price for it.

Nice and smooth. Much better tbat you would expect from 7y old. Big step up from Anejo, but not so complex and shorter aftertaste vs 12y.

Pure Panamanian paradise! Currently, this is available in Ontario Canada. Well worth the money!

Abuelo is one of the few distilleries in the world that uses sugar cane from their own plantations. This Panamanian rom is one of the most appreciated in the world and is famous for its very soft texture and its very supple and friendly body of flavors.