Back in 2013 Angostura announced the launch of No.1.  The first in a new collection of limited edition “Premium” rums.

This the “first” Angostura No.1 (yes they have called subsequent releases No.1 as well confusingly) is part of the companies Cask Collection.  The collection is a range of Premium Rums aged in select barrels. 

For this incarnation the rums were blended and aged for between 10 and 12 years and it was then left for an additional twelve months in First Fill Bourbon Casks.  Only 9,600 bottles of No.1 were available globally with just 20 cases allocated to the UK.

The House of Angostura is known for its iconic bitters and rum-making heritage and is the only rum distillery in Trinidad today after the demise of Caroni and their merger with the Fernandes Distillery.

Angostura No.1 is a blend of column distilled rums.  It is bottled at 40% ABV.  A bottle in the UK would have set you back around £50.  It is pretty much sold out now.

The presentation, as to be expected of Angostura is very good.  You get a very nice stubby style decanter and a very sturdy cylinder to store your rum in.  Topped off with a very nice and very large synthetic cork stopper.  The presentation is clear and uncluttered.  More information and less marketing nonsense would be good but hey this is commercial bottlers for you.

In the glass the rum is a very deep reddish brown almost a mahogany like colour.

The nose is light and pretty sweet.  Thankfully there is none of the more floral notes found in the 1919.  The sweetness is a caramel/toffee.  Big wafts of brown sugar and cashew nuts.  There is slightly fresh note but worryingly very little oak or signs of ageing.

A quick sip tells you all you need to know about this rum.  Sweet as honey.  It has a very smooth delivery with no burn and wafts of an almost artificial orange zest. Reminiscent of Ron Millonario XO in a lot of ways.  We could call the overall profile caramel or toffee if we were trying to dress it up.  It’s not though its sugar/additives all 31 g/L of them.

Unsurprisingly for a rum which has been altered as much as this – the finish is very short and what little there is, you could say is oak, I would describe it as corked.  It’s bitter and woody and pretty awful.

It is no wonder that Angostura are more famous for their bitters than their rums.  It must set alarms off somewhere that a distillery which has been defunct over 10 years is more heralded than the islands only remaining distillery?

Surely someone somewhere in Angostura could put their minds to producing something a bit more authentic?

They’ve released at least one other rum in this collection and the price was doubled (around £80).  I’ve no doubt it is much along the lines of this.

Rum for people who don’t really like rum or rather don’t really know what rum should be.

Avoid unless Ron Millonario is your idea of a “sipper”.  In which case you probably stopped reading this site a long time ago.

1 star