Cruzan's New Aged Rum Could Be A Hit Among Bourbon Fans

Forbes

6 days ago

Cruzan Island Reserve 13 Year
'Next year will be rum's big breakout!'
It's an ongoing joke among whiskey writers, which inevitably crops up when we're filing year-end predictions and trends lists. For decades, we've been predicting that bourbon fans, tired of chasing hard-to-find bottles and looking for novelty, will branch out into rum. After all, it's an incredibly diverse category, filled with bold flavors, hefty age statements, and stories aplenty—just the sort of thing bourbon nerds should gravitate toward.
Alas, the 'Rum Renaissance' hasn't caught on as much as the 'Bourbon Boom.' Or at least, it hasn't converted the hordes of seasoned whiskey drinkers many of us predicted. Still, slowly but surely, more Americans are coming to love high quality sipping rum in all its broad and intricate manifestations.
For the 'rum curious' (a term likely coined by the prolific Fred Minnick), the best bridges between whiskey and rum are often spirits that play to the strengths of both . A new, 13 year-old offering from Suntory-owned Cruzan might be just such a pour.
Located on Saint Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands, Cruzan produces rum starting with sugarcane molasses, which is then distilled in a special five-column setup. In contrast to pot distilled rum, column distillation tends to produce a more refined spirit, with fewer compounds that produce heavy esoteric flavors or 'funk.' As Cruzan states on their website, the result is a rum 'as smooth as you can get.'
Of course, not everyone is after the smoothest of the smooth, especially seasoned rum nerds. But with a 13 year age statement, Cruzan's new Island Reserve blend checks a lot of boxes bourbon fans might like, minus some of the notes they're less familiar with. It's also Cruzan's oldest rum to date, a blend of 13 year (48%), 16 year (22%), and 20 year (30%) distillate aged in a variety of American oak barrels.
And while American whiskey drinkers are used to hefty price tags for 10+ year bourbon, the rum category can be a bit more wallet friendly. This 13 year expression has an MSRP of $40 for a 750 milliliter bottle.
So how does it taste?
The nose is oaky, with some elements familiar to fans of American whiskey: there's pronounced dark caramel (like the kind made from sweetened condensed milk), vanilla, creme brulee, and toasted coconut flakes. Drinkers of Canadian whiskey might recognize a thread of almond extract here as well. Dried pineapple rings and papaya chunks lend some tropical fruit, but the 'funkier' aromas are certainly restrained here compared to many pot-distilled rums and rum blends. A light smokiness builds over time, but it's more wet campfire ember than peat. That's another potential pro—and a great bridge—for veteran bourbon drinkers who keep toward that traditional profile)
The first sip is cool, sweet, and inviting, heavy on vanilla bean and caramel-dipped apple slices. Fruit builds and diversifies with more tastes, branching into a citrus medley of blood orange, pomelo, and grapefruit candy. As with the nose, the flavors here lean sweet and zesty. To fans of funky, enigmatic rum profiles, the sip might come across as fairly straightforward (if still tasty). For those looking for a more accessible pour, Cruzan's latest limited time offering (LTO) fits right in with the company's self-proclaimed goal: distilled rums 'smooth on the palate,' but with enough character to remember.
That all leads into a coconut and oak-forward finish, with a pop of effervescent mint at the very end.
Cruzan Island Reserve 13 Year is bottled at 40% ABV. The total blend is composed of around 800 barrels.