Bacardi Facundo Exquisito Rum. This rum is part of Bacardi’s Facundo range. The range is named after the original founder of Bacardi Don Facundo Bacardi Masso. Bacardi Facundo Exquisito Rum is the mid tier of the range.

Bacardu Facundo Exquisito Rum retails at around £100. Which is slightly less expensive than their flagsip Reserva Limitada. Bacardi Facundo Exquisto (meaning to be free) is distilled on multi column stills in Puerto Rico. It is a blend of rums aged between 7 and 23 years old. It has been bottled at a very conservative 40% ABV. The rum is aged in ex-bourbon casks before being blended and aged for a further month in ex-sherry casks.

It was released over 3 years ago and you can still find it around at many retailers. I am unsure whether it is a permanent addition to the Bacardi portfolio or the original release still hasn’t sold out. I have to say when the Facundo range came out I had no real interest in trying it. Certainly not buying it anyway.

I’ve finally acquired a sample of this rum so I can give it a review. Whether this is a good thing or not we’ll just have to see.

I’ve reviewed most Bacardi rums over the years and many I have found to be pretty average with only really the Bacardi Reserva and Major Lazer releases really getting my attention. They were just a bit more beefy than a lot of the Bacardi fair.

That said Bacardi know their market and they sell millions of bottles of rum so who am to argue with their success.

In the glass we have a dark brown rum which is a little dull in appearance. No vibrant red or orange hue with this one. It looks a little wishy washy.

On the sip you are presented with a fairly sweet and quite woody spirit. The initial sip is sweet with spicy notes of oak and ginger. It’s a very light tasting rum which is really easy to sip on. It is a bit richer in flavour than the Bacardi Reserva Limitada but its still pretty thin oveall. The mid palate has touches of white grape and some chewy toffee but its mostly just a slightly sugary spirit with a decent hit of oak spice thrown in.

It’s not terribly complex or nuanced. The finish is fairly long but again it’s not really doing a great deal. It’s timid and uninspiring. There is nothing really other than some sweetness and some wood.

It’s bland and insipid much like the Reserva Limitada. Bacardi clearly know their audience as they seem to have no problem producing and selling these high end rums. It’s all a bit to safe for me. It’s just unexciting and bland.

Clearly the target audience just want a smooth, sweet spirit which sips easily enough and offers very little challenge. I don’t even think an increase in ABV would made much difference to this rum. It’s the style of rum but it’s just too light.

Don Q show you how to make a full flavoured “light” rum with their Gran Reserva. So it is possible. I’m sure Bacardi could do a lot better than this. Maybe even dropping the additives might make the rum a bit more interesting?

I’m struggling to write anything more about this rum.