Don Papa Rum 70cl - 40% ABV Dark Aged Sipping Rum: Distilled in Sugarlandia, Philippines | Expertly Matured in American Oak | Great for Cocktails

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The nose is very familiar – huge wafts of raspberry flavoured bubblegum. Notes of sweet artificial saccharin. Cherry flavoured boiled sweets and a slight hint of some kind of spice trying to break out but its just overpowered by the artificial confected notes. The Philippines isn’t exactly known for rum, but why not? It’s hot, they’ve got sugar, and now they’ve got their own rum finally making it to the U.S. — Don Papa. If so, they were mistaken. Even bumping it up to 43% for some added bola ng bakal didn’t do much. It had the same nasal profile of sour cream, yogurt, some sweetish fruits, and over-generous helpings of vanilla, bubble gum and yes, there it was again, that distasteful excess of soda pop sprite and fanta and pepsi masquerading as “rumminess”. And no tart raspberries this time, but some dampened down dark grapes, overripe ones, plus a twist of licorice. Oh joy. My glass runneth over. Cyril at DuRhum had this run through a lab test and that evaluated it with 29g/L sugar, 2.4 g/L glycerol and a massive 359 mg/L of vanilla. After I spit it out, there are these lingering tastes of caramel, toffee, limoncello and Mentos. Conclusion

Just to confuse matters, there’s also spiced rum, which is blended with additional fruit and spices. How we test rum Some might think all of these acquisitions are good for the category of rum; Because it will mean better distribution hence better awareness. Which will lead to more rum or “rum” being drunk more. While it may ring true for honest brands like the ones acquired by Campari. I don't entirely see it that way. Especially when dishonest brands like Diplomatico and Don Papa are being promoted as “premium” rum. The Don Papa Rum company refers to Sugarlandia as a “timeless place where nature is still the dominant life force”. It is a stunning natural land that is both lush and fertile, providing the perfect environment for Negros’ sugar canes to grow. Sugarlandia is also home to many of the small island’s sugar mills, making it the centre of the island’s sugar industry in addition to making it a key part of Negros’ rum industry.The kind of flavors I get here can’t even be found in the most well-made distillates that give off lots of fruit flavors like grappa and some pot distilled rum. It’s just unnatural. Even aging a spirit in new oak won’t get you this kind of sweetness. Our panel – made up of 10-accredited spirits experts and rum-loving consumers – put 36 white and dark rums to the test, comparing the supermarket steals to the big-branded bottles. And I said “rare YET important”, not “rare and important”… It makes quite a big difference. Once again, the issue with your article is that is doesn’t take the state of the market into consideration at all… This rum is a cynical cash grab concocted by corporate marketers and ad men attempting to appeal to the discerning drinker. And by "discerning" I mean: has money and knows diddly squat about spirits, especially rum. Pour yourself a glass of the rum and you will be immediately overcome with a stunning bouquet of aromas that perfectly complement the exotic location that the rum calls home.

Fortunately because your taste buds have been assaulted in such a way you probably won’t even notice the finish. It’s very much a blink and you miss it kind of affair. A tiny hint of something sweet and woody – and its gone. All that is left on the palate is artificial bitterness.It is a tribute to the late and great Papa Isio, who was the charismatic leader of the Negros Island in the 1890s. This Philippine island was the subject of an invasion and colonisation by the Spanish earlier in the 1800s. Papa Isio played a crucial role in organising the rebellion against the Spanish, which ultimately resulted in the island, specifically Sugarlandia, earning its independence.

If I get diagnosed with diabetes or if my palate gets ruined by this in the long run, can I ask 88 Bamboo to help with my recovery? Nutella biscuits, Herta Bio charcuterie, and Don Papa Masskara botanical rum. What do all of these items have in common? They were all included on the list of the top 10 most successful product launches in French grocery stores in 2018. This is a testament to how popular the Don Papa brand has become in European markets. Don Papa is passionate about conservation.The presentation and advertising and marketing of this rum is all about fancy bottle and label design, gorgeous visuals, and words to make you giddy with anticipation. It nails all aspects of those. Everything else is secondary, except the rum itself, which is tertiary.

Quoting Foursquare’s Richard Seale “The holy grail for the big multinationals is a product that can be mass produced but sold for a premium price - hence the need for vodka brands and gin brands in the portfolio.” By now you should have few illusions left: the palate offered no redemption, leading any reasonable tippler to ask in genuine bewilderment, “What on earth was the rum doing for three additional years?” I mean sure, there was some bite and bitter in the mix (which initially gave me hope), just too little. And the few aromas of peaches and cream were bludgeoned into insensibility in labba time by wave upon wave of more vanilla, soda pop, the syrup in canned peaches (minus the peaches), cola…it was all just too much, too sweet, too cloying, and with few discernible differences from its younger sibling, and a finish that was to all intents and purposes the best thing about it, because at least now the experience was drawing to a close. Another worrying thing is this trend might discourage new and/or smaller rum producers from putting out quality rum. Instead it might persuade them into making these dishonest rums that cut corners. Afterall, starting small brands and/or distilleries to flip to larger companies has become a business model ever since craft distilling became more of a thing, especially in the US. It smells like a liqueur – it is ludicrously sweet. It is as far away as a 10-year-old molasses based rum from say Barbados or Jamaica as it is possible. The very idea this can even be labelled as a rum is frankly, a complete embarrassment to the category.And it was on the palate that its true adulterated nature became fully apparent. The mouthfeel is where it started – it literally felt like a soda, complete with the slight scrape of what could charitably be called bite but which I’ll call chamberpot-brewed rubbing alcohol. Again that yoghurt taste was there, this time without the creaminess, the raspberries being replaced by a peach or two…and the vanilla and sprite and coke were still there in abundance, finishing the job of ruining what had been an unremarkable, unprepossessing liquid that wasted too much of my time. There was no finish to speak of, which was unsurprising, given how dosed and choked up this thing is with so much that isn’t rum. Even Pyrat’s XO would probably shudder at what the company did here (while taking notes). Artificially cloyingly sweet Cherries – like Maraschino cherries steeped in cheap sherry or despicable 4 Euro Spanish Brandy. Don Papa 7 Year Old smells quite similar to A.H Riise’s Navy Rum only (believe it or not) even sweeter and more cloying.