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 brand recently released a new premium bottling, Don Papa 10, which is aged for 10 years in re-charred American oak barrels. The aged rum is darker and bolder, offering flavors of dried fruits, cacao, and vanilla. To highlight the maturation of this rum, the image of the man on the label now has a longer beard to signify the extended aging. Some of Don Papa’s label designs come from an art competition. Wether you like it or not, Don Papa has helped MASSIVELY in getting people to understand that rum can be more than that. 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…

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. In the glass Don Papa 7 Year Old is a classic golden brown with an orange and red hue. It’s glistening and inviting. It starts right from the nose. Unlike most Caribbean rums, which are driven by vanilla notes, Don Papa is overwhelmingly fruity, featuring tons of orange, some coconut notes, banana, and a tropical hint. You can smell how powerful the sugar is — it exudes sweetness with a distinct candylike character.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. Don Papa Aged 10 Years doesn’t really develop onto anything meaningful. Beyond the sweet/bitter orange on the initial sip you only really experience sweet saccharin notes on the mid palate. There is something which is trying to be oak ageing in there but its just overwhelmed by all the nonsense they have added to this putrid mess. Whether you prefer the light, bright notes of un-aged white rum or something darker and decadent, there really is a rum for everyone. To help you choose the best rum for you, we’ve included our top-scoring white and dark rums below, and categorised them as follows: A small child would like the smell of this particular drink. It smells like the inside of a traditional sweet shop. Sherbet, artificial sweeteners, liquid candy. Rum you say? Not on this nose.

The palate arrives much as expected. That candy-coated fruit character endures, here folding in some mint, more toasted coconut, and a bit of strawberry into that orange-dominated body. The finish eventually sees a bit of astringency (that classic petrol note so common with rum) that the sugar can’t quite cover up, though frankly, given the overwhelming rush of sweetness that comes before, this rustic character is almost a relief. On the nose: I get unnaturally sweet and fruity aromas. There are these coherent fruity floral aromas that makes me think of Korean pears, pineapple syrup, banana flavored-candy, a sweetened drink with lemons and apples mixed with caramel and honey. 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. I hate this so much right now! I was actually given this by someone who had it gifted to them. They couldn’t actually drink this.

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We may have already mentioned it, but we can’t start a review of a bottle of Don Papa rum without first mentioning the fascinating label that adorns the bottle. Artistic in nature, this label is covered in so many fine details that you could spend hours examining it. You will also find a small blurb that explains more about the rum and its origins, highlighting just how much respect the manufacturers have for their rum and their craft. I don’t know why they bothered. This is three years’ additional ageing, pretty much wasted. It’s Don Papa 7 version 2.0, and just about the whole experience is the same, except the raspberries from the younger variation, which are now dark grapes. Everything else – and I mean everything else, mouthfeel, taste, finish, smell, the works – remains the same, without even some additional oakiness or complexity to make the extra expense worth it. Sure, wine will always go down a treat during such events. But sometimes, you need a drink that is a perfect representation of summer and the joy that it brings. 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). Unsurprisingly, the rum has an extremely sweet smell, which is representative of the sugar canes of Sugarlandia. A little further exploration will reveal some deep vanilla notes, which pair marvellously fruitier notes of coconut, mango, and banana. This trio of fruits lends the rum the exotic touch that is often so coveted in these types of drinks, in addition to showcasing why this rum is perfect for summer.

Look, the truth is that this is industrially produced cane sugar/molasses-based (I'm being generous here) ethanol which has been gussied up with all manner of sweeteners, artificial flavours, colours and god knows what else (glycerol and vanillan at least, according to lab tests) to make it palatable -- and it isn't! Bad enough that they call it rum, but it commits an even greater sin than playing fast and loose with the truth -- it tastes bad! Aside from this Don Papa acquisition, Diageo also signed a deal to distribute Ron Santiago de Cuba internationally in 2019. Diageo already has Captain Morgan, which is popular for their spiced rum, and Ron Zacapa, which has become notorious due to their using the number 23 as a fake age statement and adding of sweeteners.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.” Sugarlandia has almost become a place of legend on the Negros island. It is often described as an odd-land in which unexpected and unexplainable things often occur. As such, the legends surrounding Sugarlandia, and by extension the growing legend of Don Papa, have become a crucial part of the island’s rum industry.

Now imagine your future “premium” Diageo whisky brands having the possibility of being aged or finished in ex-Don Papa barrels. The horror. The waste. g/L of additives as per the Hydrometer Tests and paid laboratory tests have shown 2.4 grams per/liter of glycerin and 359 milligrams per/liter of vanillin. There is also information out there to suggest that the rum also has a mixture of sweet fruit flavourings added to it as well. So lets see how this one tastes…… 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. Perhaps the biggest reason for this is the sheer success of the brand. So not content with offering us a 7 Year Old version of their delicious elixir they felt that a further aged version of their wonderous concoction, was just what the rum world needed.

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On the nose Don Papa 7 Year Old delivers huge wafts of cheap Cream Soda. It smells a lot like a vanilla and lemonade ice cream float. Only with a bag of sugar added just to make sure its plenty sweet enough. Let’s focus on the french market if you don’t mind, since it is the one I know and can talk about (been part of the industry for several years now). Open Google and type “Don Papa contre étiquette” and there you go… You will see the mention “Boisson Spiritueuse”, meaning “spirit drink” in french. It has been the case for several years now…