Seko

I have discovered my passion for rum more than 20 years ago with Havana Club product line. My experience grew with widely available brands such as Bacardi, Barcelo, then came some "premium" rums, Zacapa, Diplomatico and many more. I appreciate the rum taste without additives, without artificial flavors and added sugar to mask alcohol burn and low quality rum. The sugar level in Diplomatico (40g/l) is the upper threshold of what I still consider to be a rum. The more sugar added the lower score in my rating. One exception is Demerrara style, such as El Dorado rums - where the sugar traditionally balances the bitterness of molasses, so I consider small amount of added sugar (under 20g/l) to be part of the tradition. It took me a few zears to come to terms with Bajan and Jamaican style rums, but now I really enjoy them for their honest craftsmanship and distinctive taste. I usually rate the rum after drinking at least one bottle as the nose and taste evolves from the first to the last glass, in the rare ocassions when I rate the rum based on a sample (mostly because I guess I won't like it) - I always explicitly state that. My ratings do also reflect the value for money, how much I would like to spend the money on another bottle. Good mixer for reasonable money will get better score from me than an average sipper with a premium price tag. I also value distinctive traits of the rum which make it memorable. I score the rums the rum by the following criteria - smell, taste, aftertaste, price to value ratio and some kind of overall feel of "I want to buy this thing again". I do not reflect the rum color or packaging in the score. I tend to reevaluate and enhance my ratings whenever I feel it can be done better.