Drink Review: Bacardi Black Rum

Premium dark rum from the world’s biggest rum brand. Rich, smooth and full-bodied, this is perfect with cola or fruit juices

Bacardi Black Rum:

Bacardi Black is a premium dark rum. It is made from fermented molasses, which is a by-product of the sugar refining process. It is aged in oak barrels for four years and filtered to remove color. It is then charcoal filtered to keep it colorless.

The brand goes back to 1862 when Don Facundo Bacardi Masso arrived in Santiago de Cuba from Spain, bringing with him the equipment he would use to ferment and distill a clear rum, which he would sell door to door. This rum would gain worldwide acclaim as one of the finest rums available. Twenty years later, the first rum would be exported in a box, which would feature the signature bat, the trademark that still adorns the boxes, along with rum bottles, today. Bacardi distilleries opened in Mexico, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Thailand, and the United States. Today, Bacardi has one of the largest rum distilleries in the world. The Bacardi distillery produced 21 million gallons of rum during 2008 and exported the rum to 147 countries.

Today there are two different rums in the product lineup. The Bacardi Black Rum is a blend of four different rums that have been aged in oak barrels for up to four years. The color of the rum, which is dark amber, comes from the barrels, not the charcoal filtering. The Bacardi Black Rum has a very strong aroma of molasses. The molasses aroma only slightly weakens during the taste. The nose is very sweet with plenty of caramel flavors as well as molasses.

The rum is very smooth with a very rich full body. There is hardly any burn or harshness. There is a slight tickle at the back of the throat but it does not come across as a strong alcohol burn.

There are plenty of caramel tones as well as rich molasses flavors. There is a slight smoky note in the mid-palate. It finishes with a pleasing mixture of caramel, chicory, molasses, and a slight oakiness.

Bacardi Black Rum Review:

One cocktail that comes to mind is a Buffalo Soldier. It is a variation of the Bronx cocktail. It features Bacardi Black Rum, Rose’s Lime Juice, and Coca-Cola.

This cocktail was first designed by Robert “Roseie” Rose at the famous King Cole Bar in New York City’s St. Regis Hotel in the 1950s. The drink was named “The Colonel’s Lady” and made with Old Jamaica rum from the Appleton Estate in Jamaica.

The story of how it came to be called the “Buffalo Soldier” is that in the 1980s, an enterprising bartender at the King Cole Bar experimented by replacing the Old Jamaica rum with Bacardi Black Rum. The resulting cocktail with the new rum was named “The Buffalo Soldier”, which was the name of the regimental song of the all-black 10th Cavalry Regiment of the U.S. Army.

When mixed with Coca-Cola, it makes a very smooth and satisfying drink. The Coca-Cola takes away some of the bite from the rum. The sweetness of the Coca-Cola perfectly complemented the rich molasses and caramel flavors of the rum.

In 2008, the Bacardi company started a campaign to promote Bacardi Black Rum at the time of the U.S. presidential election and the Olympics start. The campaign is called “Bacardi Colors”, representing the spirits and people from all over the world in their different colors.

Plenty of information about the history of the rum brand at www.bacardi.com and the history of the recipe for the famous “Buffalo Soldier” at www.foodandwine.com/articles/bacardi-black-rum-vs-buffalo-soldier-cocktail

It is probably not a good idea to drink it straight because of the strong molasses flavors. It will work well with cola or in cocktails. It is just the right amount of sweet for those who want a sweeter rum.

Dorothy J. Gaiter conceived and wrote The Wall Street Journal’s wine column, “Tastings,” from 1998 to 2010 with her husband, John Brecher. She has been tasting and studying wine since 1973.