Ron Roble Viejo Extra Anejo. According to Google Translate this rum is Rum Oak Old Extra Old. Which is interesting, though I suspect it’s more Google’s shitty translation than anything else. The Ron Roble brand hails from Venezuela home of rums such as Santa Teresa, Diplomatico and the popular bar favourites Pampero and Cacique.

Ron Roble is produced by Rones de Caribe under the guidance of Master Distiller and Blender Giorgio Melis, who has over 50 years experience in the drinks industry. Where have we heard these kind of tales before? I wonder. Still at least he’s not the Cuban Minister of Rum…………

Ron Roble is produced from molasses which comes from sugar cane grown in the Yucatan Valley. The molasses is then transported to the distillery near Caracas, the capital of Venezuela. The molasses is fermented and the wash is then distilled on a 5 Column Still.

As the name suggests much of Ron Roble’s flavour is derived from the ageing of the rum in 220 litre ex-bourbon oak barrels.. Ron Roble Viejo Extra Anejo is a blend of rums aged between 8 and 12 years. To be fair to it unlike so many “rons” it does not have a deceptive solera style age statement on its label.

I am unsure how long the brand has been in existence but it is a relatively new brand to the rum world. It has had limited distribution here in the UK but it is available a lot more in Mainland Europe.

If you are looking for more information on Ron Roble, they do have a website. To be honest there isn’t much substance to it. If it had I would have had more to write about here, but never mind. It can be found here if you are interested.

I’ve reviewed quite a few Venezuelan rums over the years. In general as far as the “Spanish Style” or “rons” are concerned I have always found the Venezeulan rums, Diplomatico aside, to be not all “that” sweet. Admiitedly, they are usually still doctored a little though sadly. Ron Roble Viejo Extra Anejo is no exception with around 19g/L of additives.

Presentation wise as with most Premium rons this is sleekly presented with a tall thin bottle. Information is minimal but the presentation is clean and uncluttered. A blue branded card sleeve is provided and the rum is sealed with a cork enclosure.

All in all I can understand why people would pick it off they shelf. Especially if they are new to rum. It retails at around the €40-45 mark. I can not see any current available here in the UK but Excellence Rhum currently have it in stock.

So lets see how this one goes down.

Nosing the rum is a lot sweeter than I was expecting. There is a lot of orange and red apple on the nose. I confected note as well like sticky boiled sweets. Beneath this are notes of oak and a little touch of smoke and some light toffee.

It’s light and easy going. Too much so. It’s missing some of the leather and more complex notes found in other Venezuelan rums. It’s trying to be like Santa Teresa 1796 but it’s just went in a bit too sweet.

All in all the nose is pleasant enough but its pretty meek and not really all that exciting.

Sipped it has a bit more bite than the nose. There is an intiial sweetness but you do get a fairly good hit of oak and spices on the entry with this one, which I was quite surprised about.

Ron Roble Viejo Extra Anejo is not all that punchy though, this is still in very light ron territory. It’s sweet and inoffensive. It’s easy drinking and not much thinking. The mid palate becomes a mixture of sweet fruits and barley sugar rubbing alongside an ever diminshing note of oak and some pepper notes.

Finish wise it just fades out to pretty much nothing. This is far from a “hairs on your chest” type of rum.

Now the thing is I have every confidence that the product in this bottle is exactly what the producer set out to produce. I also have every confidence that the type of person who enjoys this particular style of sweetened rum will find this to be pretty decent.

For me it’s just all too soft and not “rummy” enough.  It’s just a bit too weak and flowery. It’s far from being sickly sweet or hugely confected but its gone further than say Pampero Aniversario or Santa Teresa 1796 down that route to make it far less interesting as a rum.

Not for me.