![]() ![]() His outlawing of Christmas became a symbol of all the young Carlos had lost. So is Christmas and Castro’s decision to ban religion and the celebrations that went with it. The Cuban Revolution is at the core of Carlos Eire‘s memoir. Fortunately for Bacardi, some years earlier it had established itself in Porto Rico and Mexico, as well as the Bahamas, where it had moved some assets and the ownership of its trademarks. The company’s exit from Cuba followed Castro’s rise to power and the Cuban Revolution of 1959, after which all private property was banned and bank accounts confiscated without compensation. ![]() Neither location is one the Cuban founder would have expected of a Bacardi. It is made up of rums blended together in the Bahamas, where it is aged for 10 years in ex-bourbon American oak barrels, before being shipped to Mexico, where it is reduced to 40% abv and bottled. Like the other three premium sipping rums of the Facundo Rum Collection, Eximo honours the legacy of Facundo Bacardi Masso. Today Bacardi is the largest privately owned spirits company in the world, with over 200 brands in its portfolio. The history of Bacardi goes back to Facundo Bacardi Masso, who emigrated from Spain to Cuba and in 1862 founded the company, which, through innovative distilling processes, was able to produce a distinctively smooth, light-bodied rum. Exudes a warm spicy richness, perfect complement to Christmas cake before an open fire. Semi-sweet dark chocolate, with a smooth oak-cut of fire. On the nose is vanilla, caramel, cinnamon - spice-rich fare that continues on the taste buds. It pours dark walnut from its heavy glass decanter. But finding a reading counterpart was challenging, not unlike waiting for snow in Havana. The premium rum proved to be a perfect accompaniment to a snowy Christmas season. Other Rumaniacs were quite irritated with the rum as well, and their reviews can be found here on the Rumaniacs website.The Book: Waiting for Snow in Havana by Carlos Eire There’s more and better out there at a lesser price from the same island. This isn’t it, and frankly, it just annoys me. Still, the presentation is excellent, and for its strength it has a few pleasant notes - but pleasant is not what we want in something bugled to be this old and this expensive: we want a challenge, a blast from the past, something majestic. It’s not, as the website suggests, “possibly the finest rum ever sipped,” not even close. Thoughts – Unless you’re a fan of light, easy sipping rums from Cuba (or in that style), and are prepared to drop north of £200, I’d suggest passing on it. Did I mention I thought it was too sweet?įinish – Short, kind of expected at 40%. Plus, all these flavours blend into each other so it’s just a smooth butter-caramel-vanilla ice cream melange at best. Sugar (too much – I read it has 15-20 g/L when doing my research after the tasting, so now I know why). Almonds, oak, breakfast spices (almost nonexistent). The thing is too light and too weak in both mouthfeel and taste – there’s no assertiveness here. ![]() Palate – It may be a blend of old rums, but I think it hews too closely to the formula represented in its downmarket mega-selling cousins. Not sure what’s stopping them from boosting it to maybe 45%. Herbal, grassy notes, and oak, and exactly two grapes. Nose – Briny, soft and mildly fruity, with almonds and vanilla. And of course there’s all the old marketing blather about jealously guarded, never-before-seen, private stocks and family casks meant only for visiting royalty, not the ignoble peasantry. The Paraiso is the top end of the four expressions released under the brand (Neo, Eximo and Exquisito are the others) containing various rums aged up to 23 years, finished in old cognac barrels and is priced to match, though one wonders how much of that is the bottle and enclosure rather than the rum itself. You know how it is – when you can’t get the vile crap you had in your younger years any longer, it grows in the memory, somehow getting better each time. ![]() Strictly speaking, it’s not a true Rumaniac vintage (the idea is to write about old stuff that isn’t actually in production any longer), but every now and then a more current expression slips through the cracks without having gone through the process of being recalled only by the elderly, filtered through their fond recollections of where they had been when they first tried it. The Facundo rum series from Bacardi which was launched in 2013, is an attempt by the company to insert itself into the premium market with a series of aged blended rums. ![]()
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