Another try out with a Mezan rum. At these prices it would simply have been rude not to give Mezan a fair crack of the whip. With Mezan trying to do things the “right way” (in many peoples eyes – including their own) I simply had to persevere with their range.
This Panama 1999 is another one of my more unusual purchases. The original idea was to finally try one of Francisco “Don Pancho” Fernandez’s rums. I’d focused on the reasonably priced 7 year old celebrity cash in Ron De Jeremy. Then I saw this Mezan distilled in 1999 and bottled between 2012 and 2014 (I have only seen that around on the net so it may well be wrong I cannot find a definitive age).
Havana Club Maximo. Not a rum I ever envisaged reviewing on the site. Please note the image to the left is taken from the 
Havana Club Union was the third in a flight of rums I recently had the fortune to try as part of a “Twitter Tasting”.
In 2014 Havana Club updated the presentation of their 15 year old rum. Along with the update of the former Barrel Proof to Seleccion de Maestros and with a new cigar pairing rum to be released, Havana Club were geared to introducing a new range.
Bacardi re-launched this rum only last year in the UK. Until then Bacardi Gold (as it was then) was bottled at 37.5% ABV. This was increased to 40% ABV. Now the whole Bacardi line up has been re-vamped and Bacardi Gold has been re-named in a more contermporary style whilst still keeping some of the distinguishing Bacardi features.
Havana Club have recently re-branded and re-formulated their entry level Anejo Especial dark rum. Whether this has anything to do with Bacardi’s recent re-branding exercise I’m not sure. I doubt however that the two giants weren’t aware of what the other had planned……
Bacardi Carta Fuego – Red Spiced Rum to give it it’s full moniker. In 2011 Bacardi moved away from creating weird and wonderful Flavoured Rums and introduced their competitor in the Spiced Rum market – Bacardi Oakheart.