Review – Bacardi Superior Rum

With the seemingly endless stream of exciting new spirits entering the market, it can be easy to dismiss those that have been around for a while as old, and irrelevent news. Few spirits can claim to have enjoyed such longevity as Bacardi Superior, which celebrates its 150th birthday in 2012. Created in 1862 in Cuba by Don Facundo Bacardi, it  pioneered several techniques such as charcoal filtration which, whilst considered standard practice today were revolutionary at the time. Today Bacardi is no longer produced in Cuba, having had a bit of a falling out with Fidel Castro when they opposed the revolution in the 1960s. Despite changing tastes over the years, Bacardi has remained one of the major players in the international spirits market and have treated themselves to a series of three rather attractive bottles to celebrate their 150th birthday

Nose: Not very ‘rummy’ at all; in fact you might be forgiven if you were suspicious that this is in fact a vodka. There is just the merest sweet vegetal aroma to give the game away that it is not.

Neat: The briefest of sweet entries rapidly dries to open into vegetal and nutty notes with an edge of blue cheese. There is a hint of diesel around the edges which, whilst not the smoothest you’ll find of a rum, falls short of being unpleasant. Certainly this is no sipping rum, and compared with many white rums the flavours are extremely light and fleeting. However, there are good indicators that this will mix well in drinks demanding a lighter rum base.

There is no doubting the fact that Bacardi Superior is about as light a tasting rum as you will find, and I wouldn’t be the first if I were to liken it to a sugar cane vodka. This is however not necessarily a bad thing and the considered use of other ingredients to bring out the more subtle flavours results in some tasty libations. A Daiquiri for example is light and fresh, with some intriguing nutty notes coming through on the dry finish. These nutty notes also partner well with other flavours such as sherry, and classics such as the Mojito and Bacardi cocktail are solid, albeit lacking in a little complexity. The neutral palate means that there are few flavours with which it does not pair, although this is a double-edged sword as it means that it adds little character to drinks with bolder-flavoured ingredients. Whilst this is not the most exciting rum you’ll find, it is worthy of more attention than the usual ‘with coke’ mix gets it.

Signature Cocktail – The Original Bacardi Daiquiri

50ml Bacardi Superior Rum, 25ml lime juice, 15ml sugar syrup
shake ingredients with ice and strain into a chilled glass.

Bacardi Superior has well and truly earned its position as one of the worlds most popular spirits. A boutique production it is not, and its taste profile is mass market in its appeal. However, it’s ease of mixing and flexibility combined with a very competitive price point will ensure this rum remains popular for a long while yet.
Rating: ★★

★: Terrible, only drink for a dare.
★★: Meh, not undrinkable but best left alone.
★★★: Reasonable, middle of the road.
★★★★: Tasty stuff, well worth seeking out.
★★★★★: Incredible, booze doesn’t get better than this. You need a bottle in your life.