Havana Club Maximo.  Not a rum I ever envisaged reviewing on the site.  Please note the image to the left is taken from the Whisky Exchange blog and is not my photograph.  It is purely for illustrative purposes.

I recently got involved in a Twitter Tasting with Havana Club rum.  As part of this process I was sent 50ml samples of the four more exclusive/expensive rums in the brands portfolio.  Seleccion de Maestros, 15 Year Old, Union and this, the Maximo.

As you can see from the photo the Maximo is high end stuff.  Top of the line.  It comes in a beautiful silk lined wooden box and is housed in a hand blown individually labelled glass decanter.  The reason that this would never have been reviewed on the site – the price tag.  This rum costs over £1000 for a 50cl bottle bottled at 40% ABV.  Out of my price range and in reality out of a price I would even contemplate paying for rum.

The Twitter Tasting was quite hectic and on a school night. I made tasting notes at the time and I was able to squirrel away a small sample of the rum(s) to re-visit.  My usual practice is to review full bottles or at least 20cl bottles.  Still I figured a review of this rum from someone independent would be of interest.  Whilst this is a sample it wasn’t given to me by Havana Club direct in return for a glowing “freebie” review.

As you can see from the picture to the right the sample I received wasn’t quite in the same league presentation wise as the retail bottle!

Still it was a nicely put together little package and I’ll always be grateful to Peter from TheFloatingRumShack for getting me involved.  I owe that man a drink (well actually 4 doubles!).

I can’t really assess the presentation of the Maximo as I don’t physically have access to a full size bottle.  At the price though the presentation should be excellent.  Reading around it is noted that Maximo is limited to only 1,000 bottles worldwide.  I don’t know if that is it or if that was the first batch etc.  It’s unclear.  I suspect it is per year or per release.  Either way bottles of the Maximo are still available from a few online sellers here in the UK.

Also unclear is the exact age of the rums in the blend.  All I can find that it is a blend of the oldest and rarest rums in the companies reserves.  It is crafted by Maestro Ronero Don Jose Navarro.

So on with the review of the most expensive rum I’m ever likely to try……….

In the glass the rum is a nice rich copper colour with flashes of red and orange.  On the nose Maximo exhibits that familiar petrol/tobacco Havana Club nose. It is unmistakably a Havana Club product.  However, it has complexity beyond this.  It is deep and rich.  There is a lot intensity and fruit in the nose.  The nose is full to bursting with aromas.  Despite this it is still balanced, not overpowering or cloying.  No one note dominates.  This is very much a nosing rum as well as a sipping rum.  Chocolate, coffee and a little citrus.  Well aged oak and spice comes through clearly as well.  This rum certainly smells like it has a lot going on.

Taken neat (there is no way this should be mixed) the rum is initially sweet, once again very intense.  It is citrusy. The mouth feel is rich and smooth.  The rum can be left in the mouth and swirled around.  It coats the taste buds beautifully.  There is minimal burn on the finish.  The finish is very long and very intense.  It is spicy but is layered with tropical fruits and rich dark cocoa notes.

Without question this is an outstanding rum and one which if you get the chance you definitely should try.  Whether it is “worth” over £1000 depends on your viewpoint and being honest, how much money you have!

In my world I couldn’t justify paying this much for a rum but someone will and they will thoroughly enjoy every drop of this excellent rum.  It’s certainly up there with the very best rums I have tried but I cannot give it a perfect score as it is still not the perfect rum I am seeking……..

You see, despite how good this rum is it is off the radar in terms of a price I could ever justify a lottery win aside and sadly it also shows added sugar when put to the Hydrometer Test at 12 g/L.  Sadly, this will be smoothing out the rum out and I would have preferred to have tried it with a bit more of a kick in the finish.