Bacardi Major Lazer Limited Edition
Bacardi Major Lazer. A Limited Edition rum from the Puerto Rican rum powerhouse. Prior to this review I had no idea who/what Major Lazer is/are. For some reason I pictured some kind of dancehall/reggae musician like Shaggy or Beanie Man. Quite why I have no real idea.
Major Lazer are (Wikipedia tells me) “an electronic music trio composed of record producer Diplo, and DJs Jillionaire and Walshy Fire. It’s music spans numerous genres, mixing reggae with dancehall, reggaeton, soca, house and moombahton (no clue either).”
So it turns out I wasn’t that far wrong. They are definitely not my bag music wise but they seem to be quite popular. Fortunately I’m not require to have my finger on the pulse of Electronic music and “virtual” bands to keep this blog going. So we’ll switch our focus back on to this rum.
In all honesty the “Limited Edition” notation on this rum is probably a lot less limited than us in the rum community are used to. When we refer to limited we can get down to literally just a few hundred bottles of a single cask rum. I’m more than sure that this release will have more bottles than a lot of producers “standard” out turn of their commercially available product.
I wasn’t expecting to find a bottle of this in the UK. However, Amazan had stocks of it and it was priced at £20 for a 40% ABV 70cl bottle. Using the new(ish) Bacardi presentation the rum is presented in the tall bar style bottle with a modern black and gold colour scheme. Other than Amazon I haven’t seen this for sale in the UK at all.
The rear label is actually a recipe for a cocktail “The Mississippi Rum Punch” but it has been stuck over and existing label. The glue is too strong for me to pull it off and read the label beneath – its just tearing both. The Revenue and Customs sticker is also not incorporated into the label which makes me think Amazon have merely got a limited stock of this rum. I don’t think 
an official UK release will be forthcoming.
Curiosity got the better of me though and I thought £20 wasn’t a bad price to pay. Bacardi get a hard time. They are an easy target – a bit like Don Papa became around a year or so ago. I’ve never been astounded by Bacardi but at the same time the rum that gets knocked the most the White Superior is actually a lot better than some of the “trendy” whites that get hype in certain circles. I’ve no real issue with Bacardi I don’t think they offer a bad product for the price. The only issue I have is that once you go past the Bacardi 8 you no longer get much value for money.
The label states – A Partnership between Bacardi and Major Lazer “The sound of rum is more than music – it’s a cultural movement join us as we make the world smaller by making the party bigger” Ok so what do we actually have in the glass once all the “hype” is forgotten about? Well the other side of the label states the following
Crafted between our Maestro de Ron & Major Lazer
“This Limited Edition is a rich blend of 3 year old Amber rums filtered before and after Tropical Ageing – Embodies notes of Tropical Fruit, Cedar and Vanilla with a warm silky finish”
Which if you have been reading Bacardi’s latest “opinion” on the Gargano Classification shows how they wish to present rum. No reference given to the fact the rum is produced on column stills.
An additional piece of information on the rum is that is has been imported from Puerto Rico – so it is not the juice from the Bahamas (unless it was only bottled in Puerto Rico).
All the information I have provided on the actual rum (other than the column distilled part) are on the bottle so I haven’t had to dig around. Fair play to Bacardi.
In the glass this three year old blend has clearly been coloured. It’s that familiar “rum” colour we expect to see of our “gold” or “amber” rums. Once again you can’t give Bacardi too much stick for this as nearly all producers are guilty of the offence.
It’s a dark brown colour with flashes of yellow/gold. The nose is familiar. Its not unpleasant and recognisable as a Bacardi product. Light, slightly floral, with wafts of what I can only describe of sweet tobacco. There is a nice aroma of vanilla and some young vibrant wood – its notes cedar on the bottle so we’ll go with that. There’s even a little bit of minty bubblegum towards the end giving it a freshness.
It’s nowhere near as boozy as the Bacardi Gold or Carta Oro. Luckily its not as thin and insipid as the Reserva Limitada. It’s still got a bit of beef to its, overall softer profile.
Travel Retail or Duty Free isn’t really the greatest place to try rums. However, the Bacardi Reserva which has been floating around Airport retail for some years is a rare exception. Reasonably priced, whilst at the same time interesting and complex enough to mix and sip. If I had been given this rum blind I would have assumed, almost immediately it was that bottling.
Now as a sipper this isn’t brilliant. Some of the notes on the nose do not carry through to the tasting. It’s a touch to “nice” even with the relative youth of the rum blend. It’s reasonably sweet with nice vanilla but its the oak and tobacco that lift it. It works really well in a Cuba Libre with lots of crushed ice and lime. It’s a really good “rum and coke” rum.
Marketing gimmicks and all that nonsense aside this is a really good value product from Bacardi. I don’t know how close it is to the actual Bacardi Reserva, but it is definiteily giving me a very similar impression. It’s the most Cuban tasting of their rums I have tried thus far.
I’m really enjoying this rum and at the price I don’t think you can knock it at all.There is a touch of sugar/additives at 8g/L which is maybe smoothing the edges out but it works and is not detrimental to the overall experience.
I’ve already Amazon-ed another bottle. I’ve a few more expensive “Latin” style rums up for review that cost three times this. They aren’t as good as this.
Knock it when you’ve tried it is what I would say for this one. A “Major” surprise. Maybe Foursquare Distillery will release an Inspiral Carpets inspired rum one day….
A step into the familiar Berrys’ or Berry’s Bros & Rudd, alongside the unfamiliar in a Fijian rum. Quite what to expect from an 8 Year Old Fijian rum I am not sure.
have only seen The Lone Caner dip his toe into reviewing Fijian rum before, so I really have little to go on. He’s actually reviewed this exact same rum so if you want a second opinion (or just a nice tale to read) you can view it 
On the palate the rum is very fiery, spicy and a real eye popper even at 46% ABV. Tastewise it is similar in many ways to that Scottish Spirit or a more refined Irish Poitin. It is very intense and I’m more than sure it is a pot still rum. It’s a bit like chewing on an elastic band in many ways yet it also has an almost peated taste to it especially in the very long and spicy finish.
Dràm Mòr Single Cask Rum Fiji Distillery Aged 12 Years. I suppose saying this rum comes from “Fiji Distillery” isn’t really all that inaccurate. Whilst the actual distillery is perhaps better known, to those who actually know about Fijian rum, as South Pacific Distillery it is the only rum distillery on Fiji.
presentation is clean and sleek certainly more up to date than some indie bottlers that’s for sure!
As we move towards the finish you get a second wind of pineapple and banana alongside some more soothing herbal spices and a nice hit of oak. The higher ABV means the finish is long and very pleasant. This is a rum which you will likely take slowly as there is so much going on. Its a shame to rush it.
Cockspur Old Gold Special Reserve Rum. I always think of the cricket, when I see Cockspur. Which is strange, because aside from being a mean left handed fast bowler in my youth, my adversity to having small hard things thrown at me at speeds of up to 60mph, largely diminished my interest in the game.
Unlike the Plantation line Cockspur Old Gold Special Reserve Rum has been distilled, aged and blended in Barbados. It says so on the front label. It doesn’t say anything about additives but I can confirm there are none as per the hydrometer.
The back label recommends serving this over ice or with Ginger Ale for a Bajan mule. I mixed this both with Cola and Ginger Beer. It made a pretty pleasant stab at both drinks. In particular with Ginger Ale.
Ron Colon Salvadoreno Coffee Infused High Proof Rum. I’ve got to say if I was going to introduce a rum brand to the market, I probably wouldn’t call it “Colon”. The meaning in English doesn’t really work that well.
At the price-point, I didn’t feel too guilty trying this with cola. It works very nicely rather than giving a “cold coffee” kind of flavour that I was expecting. It’s more dark chocolate and a kind of stoned fruits type of taste. It certainly lifts the cola. Beneath this you get a nice rummy hit as well which leads to a very pleasant long drink.
Appleton Estate 21 Year Old Rum will be for many the top of the tree in terms of Appleton tasting.
Cadenhead’s Classic Rum Aged 17 Years. I reviewed 
ore recent Classic Rum I have grown accustomed to was/is considerably darker (probably due to the amount of Demerara rum in the blend). It’s more of a darkened golden brown once poured into the glass. It has an orange glow to it as well.
