Light to medium body of ageing with bit complex notes, a touch of sweetness, some light barrel, a bit of spice and at the end i touch of vegetables like agricole rums...

Not oversweet, rummy, pleasant drink even straight. Perfect for cocktails

I finally found a rum identical to Havana Club 7 Year in the U.S.…in a very likely source actually. This is a rum I had been been putting off because I wanted to try Don Panchos other expressions first. Don Pancho makes rum in Panama in the Cuban style and method that is extremely close to Havana Club expressions. The reason they are so similar to Havana Club expressions is actually simple. Don Pancho himself was the former Director of Research and Development for Agriculture in Cuba overseeing Havana Club and was deeply ingrained in the creation of Havana Club creations itself prior to its sale in the early 1990s. He left Cuba for Panama and after a few years collaborating with Ron Abuelo, he set out to develop his own distillery and rum production in the Herrera Province buying the old distillery at Las Cabras which was an antique copper column still. Don Pancho began using his production methods he oversaw at Havana Club at the Las Cabras Distillery. As a result many of his expressions mirror or are almost identical to Havana Club Expressions.

I have enjoyed most of the Cuban Havana Club expressions over the years. However, there is one Havana Club expression I could never find an identical counter part to in the U.S.: Havana Club 7 Year. And that was important because, to me, Havana Club 7 Year makes the *perfect* Cuba Libre. Indeed there is really no other rum like it for that purpose. Over the years I went through a veritable litany of Cuban style rums produced by both Don Pancho and other Latin rum producers trying to find a perfect analogue to the marriage of bright fruit and rich chocolate fudge notes that HC7 has.

Enter Don Pancho Origenes Reserva 8 Year. With the Origenes line Don Pancho goes back to his roots and with the 8 Year expression produces an almost perfect facsimile of Havana Club 7 Year. I am kind of shocked just how similar they are…even though I really shouldn’t be given the context.

This is a rum produced from molasses, fermented with wild yeast, and distilled on a copper column still. It is then aged 8 years tropically in ex-bourbon barrels in Panama and bottled at 40% ABV. Per Don Pancho he “abhors additives” and makes pure rum in the original style.

So what notes does this “Origins” 8 Year play?

On the nose I get a deep rich caramel note along with cola residue mixed with a fruity apples combination. This is followed by brown sugar and rich chocolate fudge. That smells familiar. But if the nose is somewhat similar to HC7, the palate is very nearly an identical match.

On the palate the sip is exceedingly rich, an explosion of fruity red apples and rich chocolate fudge. This is followed by caramel, cola, and a slight twang of oak tannins. A damn near identical match to a certain 7 year expression produced in Cuba.

This rum has a rich decadent finish just like its Cuban counterpart. On the finish here I get the return of Chocolate Fudge, and then an almost sour twang of Antique Wood varnish, and a touch of Oak tannins. Long after on the distant retrohale I get ripe red figs. Delightful. Oh yeah, this is a keeper.

If any of you fellow Americans are looking for a legitimate twin of Havana Club 7 year in the U.S., *this* rum is exactly what you are looking for. Its combination of chocolate fudge mixed with fruitiness is a bang-on facsimile of Havana Club 7 Year

In fact how I discovered this was backwards in a way. The first thing I did after I bought this rum was make a Cuba Libre. Having just returned from Spain where I had enjoyed nightly Cuba Libres with HC7 I was stunned to find this made an identical Cuba Libre to the HC 7. So I tested other similar rums beside it to compare…there was no comparison. This wasn’t just similar it was damn near identical.

So then I tried it straight, and yep, if you switched out a bottle of this with HC7 almost no one could discern the difference.

While HC7 isn’t any kind of unicorn in terms of rum, finding an identical analogue to HC7 in the U.S. for making Cuban cocktails has been challenging….well, until now.

If you are a bar manager or a rum enjoyer unable to get Havana Club 7 Year, this is damn near identical in both cocktails and just to sip on.

ABV: 40%

Country of Origin: Panama

Distillery: Las Cabras

Nose: Caramel, Cola Residue, Red Apples, Brown Sugar, Chocolate Fudge

Palate: Very rich, Chocolate Fudge, Fruity (Red Apples), Deep Rich Caramel, Cola, Oak

Finish: Chocolate Fudge, Antique Wood Varnish, touch of Oak, Red Figs

Did not expect a lot from it, but got at least something smooth. Works in Hemingway special

Not a lot of rum in it. First sip is somehow ok, but no more than 3.
Works in Cuba Libre only. Too sweet for the Pina Colada

Strong rum with strong cocoa/chocolade taste. Sweet, but not too much. Could be more balanced aroma.

Too sweet, too much banana and vanila taste. Overpriced, but still gives interesting taste in mixes with cola or sprite.

Simply the best rum I have ever tasted. At 58% abv this is soooo smooth, flavours totally unique with a long lasting taste. It is impossible to not have a second glass of this nectar. My first try in the « Enmore world » and it surpasses the Bajan flavours from Foursquare, St. Nicholas Abbey & Mount Gay I have been enjoying all these years. 10/10

This is definitely not one of the best rum I have ever had. The price gives the expectation of a far better rum than it actually is. Bit of a disappointment, will not buy it again.

Fás, karamellás, trópusi gyümölcs ,csokoládé. Tetszik ez az ízvilág.Nagyon is iható.Én tisztán szeretem.Gratulálok a mestereknek.

Ez a rum nekem kellemes meglepetés.Árérték arányban verhetetlen ajánlat.Nekem így kerek ahogy van megéri az árát.Őszinte és hiteles előadás.

Szeretem az édes rumokat (is),de általában ez ez édesség indít el sok mindenkit a rum irányába..Az édesség melletti ízvilág nagyon kellemes.Ez egy jó rum.

Vaniliás karamellás jegyek,ha nem bírod az alkoholt jéggel fogyaszd.Soha rosszabat ne igyak.Semmi bántó nincs benne számomra.Elfér a polcomon ,néha belekóstolok.

Kiváncsiságból vettem csak azt nem tudom kivel itatom meg.Szirupos mesterséges íz, mű vanilia, mű banán jegyek.Hát ez nem jött be.Azt hittem túloznak a vélemények....

A blend of aged and young rums, matured in Cuba for 7 years in whisky casks.

Bottle: Cylindrical with a label showing a map of Cuba that looks like a crocodile. The glass also has a crocodile skin texture.
Colour: Amber

Nose: Pungent and woody. I smelled particularly cherry, blackberry, apricot and a little caramel.
Mouth: Quite full and interesting. I smelled dark chocolate, coffee, cocoa, slightly burnt cane sugar and wood.

Conclusion: For its age, this is actually a very good rum with quite a rich flavour that will appeal to even experienced rum drinkers.

Rating: 8,5/10

A very well-known and commercially successful rum. This rum has often been misinterpreted because of its age. It is not a 20-year-old rum, but a rum created for the 20th anniversary of Alexander Gabriel's position as master blender.
This is a blend of rums that have been aged for 8-15 years in bourbon barrels in Barbados and then 2-10 years in various types of barrels in France.

Bottle: Nice conical shape with typical grass "ála Plantation"
Colour: Darker honey-amber

Nose: A little weaker (perhaps due to the fact that we have been tasting from a long open bottle). I smelled mainly vanilla, caramel and plums.
Taste: Rather sweet and weak (again, the long-opened bottle may be the reason). On the palate, I tasted mainly vanilla, sweet cherries and some woody notes.

Conclusion: I found this to be such an ordinary rum for the general masses. I was not impressed at all.

Rating: 6,5/10

This should be the standard for mix rums. It's good, but i wouldn't sip it.

Had both side by side.
And this simply dod not have the fresh sweetnes of the normal one.

Had the opportunity to taste this, and it just wasn't what i expected. Felt almost like it was closed and i couldn't find any of the typical rum notes, only snippets of it and it ended up being quite dissappointing.

a Saw a lot stellar reviews, but i think the style isn't for me. It's good, no doubt. But to me it ended up tasting a little flat or bland

I would have expected more. But compared to the 12-year, i don't sense much difference. Except it's a bit more 'Closed' compared. I would recommend the 12-year

This punches above it's weight. With a spicy and warm taste that lingers just for a while before dissipating and leaving a pleasant aftertaste of caramel.

This Rum is quite dry and packed with a strong finish, it's delicious.

This has become my go to.
Decent for sipping, good for drinks and just overall a decent package.
There are other rums, that would be better to sip, but this is an all-rounder at a decent price

This is good, but i would probably use it for cocktails to spice them up, rather than use it for sipping

Light to medium body of ageing with bit complex notes, a touch of sweetness, some light barrel, a bit of spice and at the end i touch of vegetables like agricole rums...

Not oversweet, rummy, pleasant drink even straight. Perfect for cocktails

I finally found a rum identical to Havana Club 7 Year in the U.S.…in a very likely source actually. This is a rum I had been been putting off because I wanted to try Don Panchos other expressions first. Don Pancho makes rum in Panama in the Cuban style and method that is extremely close to Havana Club expressions. The reason they are so similar to Havana Club expressions is actually simple. Don Pancho himself was the former Director of Research and Development for Agriculture in Cuba overseeing Havana Club and was deeply ingrained in the creation of Havana Club creations itself prior to its sale in the early 1990s. He left Cuba for Panama and after a few years collaborating with Ron Abuelo, he set out to develop his own distillery and rum production in the Herrera Province buying the old distillery at Las Cabras which was an antique copper column still. Don Pancho began using his production methods he oversaw at Havana Club at the Las Cabras Distillery. As a result many of his expressions mirror or are almost identical to Havana Club Expressions.

I have enjoyed most of the Cuban Havana Club expressions over the years. However, there is one Havana Club expression I could never find an identical counter part to in the U.S.: Havana Club 7 Year. And that was important because, to me, Havana Club 7 Year makes the *perfect* Cuba Libre. Indeed there is really no other rum like it for that purpose. Over the years I went through a veritable litany of Cuban style rums produced by both Don Pancho and other Latin rum producers trying to find a perfect analogue to the marriage of bright fruit and rich chocolate fudge notes that HC7 has.

Enter Don Pancho Origenes Reserva 8 Year. With the Origenes line Don Pancho goes back to his roots and with the 8 Year expression produces an almost perfect facsimile of Havana Club 7 Year. I am kind of shocked just how similar they are…even though I really shouldn’t be given the context.

This is a rum produced from molasses, fermented with wild yeast, and distilled on a copper column still. It is then aged 8 years tropically in ex-bourbon barrels in Panama and bottled at 40% ABV. Per Don Pancho he “abhors additives” and makes pure rum in the original style.

So what notes does this “Origins” 8 Year play?

On the nose I get a deep rich caramel note along with cola residue mixed with a fruity apples combination. This is followed by brown sugar and rich chocolate fudge. That smells familiar. But if the nose is somewhat similar to HC7, the palate is very nearly an identical match.

On the palate the sip is exceedingly rich, an explosion of fruity red apples and rich chocolate fudge. This is followed by caramel, cola, and a slight twang of oak tannins. A damn near identical match to a certain 7 year expression produced in Cuba.

This rum has a rich decadent finish just like its Cuban counterpart. On the finish here I get the return of Chocolate Fudge, and then an almost sour twang of Antique Wood varnish, and a touch of Oak tannins. Long after on the distant retrohale I get ripe red figs. Delightful. Oh yeah, this is a keeper.

If any of you fellow Americans are looking for a legitimate twin of Havana Club 7 year in the U.S., *this* rum is exactly what you are looking for. Its combination of chocolate fudge mixed with fruitiness is a bang-on facsimile of Havana Club 7 Year

In fact how I discovered this was backwards in a way. The first thing I did after I bought this rum was make a Cuba Libre. Having just returned from Spain where I had enjoyed nightly Cuba Libres with HC7 I was stunned to find this made an identical Cuba Libre to the HC 7. So I tested other similar rums beside it to compare…there was no comparison. This wasn’t just similar it was damn near identical.

So then I tried it straight, and yep, if you switched out a bottle of this with HC7 almost no one could discern the difference.

While HC7 isn’t any kind of unicorn in terms of rum, finding an identical analogue to HC7 in the U.S. for making Cuban cocktails has been challenging….well, until now.

If you are a bar manager or a rum enjoyer unable to get Havana Club 7 Year, this is damn near identical in both cocktails and just to sip on.

ABV: 40%

Country of Origin: Panama

Distillery: Las Cabras

Nose: Caramel, Cola Residue, Red Apples, Brown Sugar, Chocolate Fudge

Palate: Very rich, Chocolate Fudge, Fruity (Red Apples), Deep Rich Caramel, Cola, Oak

Finish: Chocolate Fudge, Antique Wood Varnish, touch of Oak, Red Figs

Did not expect a lot from it, but got at least something smooth. Works in Hemingway special

Not a lot of rum in it. First sip is somehow ok, but no more than 3.
Works in Cuba Libre only. Too sweet for the Pina Colada

Strong rum with strong cocoa/chocolade taste. Sweet, but not too much. Could be more balanced aroma.

Too sweet, too much banana and vanila taste. Overpriced, but still gives interesting taste in mixes with cola or sprite.

Simply the best rum I have ever tasted. At 58% abv this is soooo smooth, flavours totally unique with a long lasting taste. It is impossible to not have a second glass of this nectar. My first try in the « Enmore world » and it surpasses the Bajan flavours from Foursquare, St. Nicholas Abbey & Mount Gay I have been enjoying all these years. 10/10

This is definitely not one of the best rum I have ever had. The price gives the expectation of a far better rum than it actually is. Bit of a disappointment, will not buy it again.

Fás, karamellás, trópusi gyümölcs ,csokoládé. Tetszik ez az ízvilág.Nagyon is iható.Én tisztán szeretem.Gratulálok a mestereknek.

Ez a rum nekem kellemes meglepetés.Árérték arányban verhetetlen ajánlat.Nekem így kerek ahogy van megéri az árát.Őszinte és hiteles előadás.

Szeretem az édes rumokat (is),de általában ez ez édesség indít el sok mindenkit a rum irányába..Az édesség melletti ízvilág nagyon kellemes.Ez egy jó rum.

Vaniliás karamellás jegyek,ha nem bírod az alkoholt jéggel fogyaszd.Soha rosszabat ne igyak.Semmi bántó nincs benne számomra.Elfér a polcomon ,néha belekóstolok.

Kiváncsiságból vettem csak azt nem tudom kivel itatom meg.Szirupos mesterséges íz, mű vanilia, mű banán jegyek.Hát ez nem jött be.Azt hittem túloznak a vélemények....

A blend of aged and young rums, matured in Cuba for 7 years in whisky casks.

Bottle: Cylindrical with a label showing a map of Cuba that looks like a crocodile. The glass also has a crocodile skin texture.
Colour: Amber

Nose: Pungent and woody. I smelled particularly cherry, blackberry, apricot and a little caramel.
Mouth: Quite full and interesting. I smelled dark chocolate, coffee, cocoa, slightly burnt cane sugar and wood.

Conclusion: For its age, this is actually a very good rum with quite a rich flavour that will appeal to even experienced rum drinkers.

Rating: 8,5/10

A very well-known and commercially successful rum. This rum has often been misinterpreted because of its age. It is not a 20-year-old rum, but a rum created for the 20th anniversary of Alexander Gabriel's position as master blender.
This is a blend of rums that have been aged for 8-15 years in bourbon barrels in Barbados and then 2-10 years in various types of barrels in France.

Bottle: Nice conical shape with typical grass "ála Plantation"
Colour: Darker honey-amber

Nose: A little weaker (perhaps due to the fact that we have been tasting from a long open bottle). I smelled mainly vanilla, caramel and plums.
Taste: Rather sweet and weak (again, the long-opened bottle may be the reason). On the palate, I tasted mainly vanilla, sweet cherries and some woody notes.

Conclusion: I found this to be such an ordinary rum for the general masses. I was not impressed at all.

Rating: 6,5/10

This should be the standard for mix rums. It's good, but i wouldn't sip it.

Had both side by side.
And this simply dod not have the fresh sweetnes of the normal one.

Had the opportunity to taste this, and it just wasn't what i expected. Felt almost like it was closed and i couldn't find any of the typical rum notes, only snippets of it and it ended up being quite dissappointing.

a Saw a lot stellar reviews, but i think the style isn't for me. It's good, no doubt. But to me it ended up tasting a little flat or bland

I would have expected more. But compared to the 12-year, i don't sense much difference. Except it's a bit more 'Closed' compared. I would recommend the 12-year

This punches above it's weight. With a spicy and warm taste that lingers just for a while before dissipating and leaving a pleasant aftertaste of caramel.

This Rum is quite dry and packed with a strong finish, it's delicious.

This has become my go to.
Decent for sipping, good for drinks and just overall a decent package.
There are other rums, that would be better to sip, but this is an all-rounder at a decent price

This is good, but i would probably use it for cocktails to spice them up, rather than use it for sipping