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Cruzan Estate Diamond Rum
This rum reviewing sessions are almost finished, there are only a couple of more rums in my collection that need to be tasted. In this review I’ll be looking at Cruzan Estate Diamond which is a 5 year old rum from St. Croix. The rum is actually a blend of rums older than 5 years, but younger than 10 years. This rum has a long history, well maybe not this particular rum, but Cruzan has been distilling rum, in the Virgin Islands, since 1760. Making rum for that long means you must be doing something right. This is one of the younger rums in the review and probably won’t be as complex as others, but let us take a look.
Cruzan has recently spent a lot of time working on, and promoting, and line of flavoured rums which sometimes overshadows their classic rums. There classic line of rums consist of the Estate range which has the standard white and amber versions. Most of these rums are very young in age, with the label stating 2 years, but there is the 5 year old which is what I’m reviewing. They also have a black “navy” rum and a single barrel rum that has a maximum age of 12 years. So when you look at Cruzan, they seem to market young rums.
Cruzan Rum Tasting Notes
Colour: Light yellowish gold. Relatively light for a rum.
Nose: Sweet with molasses and that characteristic rum aroma. Mildly alcoholic.
Palate: Sweet, start with almost a refined sugar taste, not the heavy molasses that some have. Smooth for such a young rum, but not so smooth that it lacks character. The finish is dry with woody spiciness and molasses.
The Cruzan Estate Diamond rum is a fairly mild rum, not too complex, and sweeter than many of the other rums I’ve tasted during this session. Depending on what you look for in a spirit, this maybe a good sipping rum and would work well in a simple rum based cocktail. I don’t feel it would work well in a Mai Tai or any rum based cocktail where the rum is playing first fiddle. This is a rum for someone who doesn’t want the assertiveness of other rums. Good for rookies is what I’m trying to say, but still pleasant enough for connoisseurs.
The last two rums on the list are Cockspur and Gosling Black Seal rum. Then that pretty much does it for my rum tasting, but the good news is that will lead me onto some rum based cocktails. Starting with the appropriate rum is the best way to make a seriously great cocktail.
15 Comments on Cruzan Estate Diamond Rum
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I think I saw a bottle of this the last time I made a trip to the liquor store. I may give it a shot if it's still there next time.
why's it 4rookies???
Answer: When people first introduce themselves to spirits they generally aim for something that doesn't taste like alcohol. This rum is very gentle and doesn't have a lot of the burn associated with other young rums. So it is good for "rookies" to start with. But I don't mean that it can't be enjoyed by anyone.
Darcy
Just picked up a bottle of this at the state store. Two new rums (the other was Myer's white) in one month! I can't resist picking up new rums - well, avoiding the flavored variety.
I agree with much of what you say about the diamond. It's kind of boring. It seems like it might be similar in some ways to Bacardi 8.
"Boring".....say what??? Rick, you couldn't be more WRONG on comparing Cruzan Estate Diamond to Bacardi 8. It's NOT even close in class, as Estate Diamond is consistently a superior product to Bacardi 8!
To EVERYONE here: True Amber rums SHOULD be 'smooth' in BOTH taste and finish, hence the reasoning of the aging process to begin with. Otherwise, why even bother with the added EXPENSE of going through the distilling and aging process. Get it???
From my experience, Cruzan's 'Estate Diamond' is by far the BEST value for a blended amber rum up to 10 years of aging on the market today PERIOD - end of story!!!
More than 50 years ago I had an unpleasant rum experience at age 16. I could not tolerate even the thought of rum for many years. Then, on a cruise in the Carribean, someone touted Cruzan Estate Diamond Rum to me. I thought I'd try it. I didn't even know how to drink it. I tried it neat, with no ice and a squeeze of fresh lime juice - nothing else. It is delicious. I now find that our state stores no longer stock it.