Plantation Single Cask Barbados 12 Years Wild Cherry Finish is a bottling relelased exclusively for Coq D’Argent. Coq D’Argent is a bar/restaurant in London near the Bank district of the city.

I was fortunate enough to be able to pick up a bottle of this from the Plantation stand that was part of the travelling UK Rum Festivals this year.  It was priced at £35.

Coming in at 44.1% ABV this rum was aged for 8 years in ex-bourbon casks before being finished for 4 years in Ferrand Wild Cherry casks. I’m not entirely sure what these casks were used for prior to being used in this bottlings.

My bottle is number 48 from cask 1.  Presentation of Plantation rums is always vibrant and modern.  The black and gold colour scheme of these single cask releases really make them stand out.  Nice sleek bar style bottle with a slightly bulbous neck and a good quality cork stopper.  With the mesh surrounding the bottle it is unmistakably Plantation.

Now these rums seem to pop up quite a bit and I’ve seen a few of the releases.  They seem to be repeated amongst different bars etc.  You could worry about this but as the rums only cost around £35-40 I don’t think anyone can be expecting to be getting something mega rare.  It’s not badly priced for a 12 Year Old Rum.

Plantation are one of the brands/companies who get the most flak for adding sugar to their rums.  They actually add an aged sugar syrup to their rums – which on its own makes a very nice liqueuer.  I don’t always think Plantations use of “dosage” works – the Plantation Jamaica I had was awful.

But I have had some nicer bottlings from Plantation.  This Single Cask rum has also been dosed.  I’m unsure which Bajan distillery the base rum comes from.  It is unlikely with the Cherry finish on this one that I will be able to identify that even on tasting.

In the glass the rum is a reddish/golden brown colour.  Classic aged spirit colour if you like.

On the nose the Plantation Barbados Aged 12 Years offers little evidence of any additional finish or maturation.  It really is a classic Bajan rum nose.  Nicely balanced, oaky and slightly spicy.  It is a bit like a more muted Mount Gay XO.  The added sugar has probably dulled (or rounded) the more spicy notes a little I feel.

Research would suggest that this rum will be from Foursquare despite it being more akin to the Mount Gay XO on the nose.  If anyone has any information which can confirm this isn’t Foursquare please let me know.

When sipped the rum reveals more of the finish (more an additional maturation really at 4 years).   It’s not hugely sweet or really big on the cherry flavour but there is certainly a touch of sweet dark cherries.  Other than that the Plantation Barbados Wild Cherry finish really plays out like a very nice Bajan rum.  Despite the nose being a little on the light side the rum is spicy and quite robust.  There is a lot of influence left from the 8 years in ex-bourbon.  This gives the rum a wonderful spicy and slightly tangy note.  Nice oak, vanilla mixed alongside tart citrus fruits and a very moreish sweet/sour spicy note.

The finish is quite nice as well – plenty of spicy oak and a nice sweetness which flows right through the rum.  It is unfortunately a little on the short side and fades quite quickly.

As a result you may find you sip this quite quickly.  It’s very agreeable.  I quite enjoy the extra sweetness in this rum as it doesn’t go over the top and become cloying.  When Plantation do get the “dosage” right they can produce some very good rums.  They are even now producing rums without dosage.  I think that is a wise move to appeal to the more hardcore rum drinker.

In terms of finished Bajan rums this offering from Plantation can certainly hold its own against the Port and ZInfandel Cask rums offered by Foursquare.  It may not be quite as good but its certainly a more than decent alternative.

I was actually quite surprised to find this rum had double digits in terms of added sugar.  It really doesn’t taste like that.  You still get a lot of “rum” for your money with this one.

This is a really good Bajan rum with enough of a twist to keep things interesting.  I really enjoyed this one  It’s the best Plantation offering I have had so far.

If you come across a bottle I’d recommend picking it up.  It really is very good and don’t worry about the Cherry note – we aren’t talking Stiggins’ Fancy level of fruit flavour.  It really is very subtle and nicely done.