Plantation 20th Anniversary XO

Plantation XO is one of Planation’s mid-level offerings, aged in Bourbon casks in Barbados and Cognac barrels in France then watered down to basement proof. It’s boasts a label jam packed full of consumer misleaders, such as a giant “20” with the small print th anniversary, and “XO”, which means exactly nothing. Not to mention the contents are very obviously heavily coloured. Had I seen this bottle in a liquor store it is so full of marketing that I would never expect it to taste good and would never come close to purchasing it. They’re sending all the wrong signals about the quality of their product here.

Luckily, though I tasted and rated this blind, and had no idea what it was or what the bottle looked like. Only information I had beforehand was that it was rum.

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Distiller: Plantation
ABV: 40%
Age: NAS
Cask type: Undisclosed
Source: Pour at Statsraaden Bar, Bergen, Norway
Setting: Blind

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Nose: Red grape, some older wood, a light molasses. As it opens it becomes kind of foul, artificial coconut, perfume, sunscreen, rotting fruit. It gets worse and worse.
Palate: Bright, coconut, cloyingly sweet, pineapple essence. Smacks lips
Finish: Finishes sugary sweet and artificial, tropical fruit and burnt sugar.
Overall: You know, I didn’t hate this when I poured it. But it got worse and worse to the point where I couldn’t drink any more. It just started tasting more and more like artificial coconut and pineapple. And holy shit is this thing sweet. I honestly could not finish the meager 2cl pour I was given. It’s a good thing I know rum can be better than this, because if this were my first rum it would also have been my last.
Rank: 2