Rum Review: Plantation Jamaica 2000
Plantation Jamaica Old Reserve 2000
You say “Plantation rum” and I say “Yum!”
I have yet to taste one of their products that didn’t knock my socks off, so when I saw a bottle of their Jamaican bottling at a local store I snatched it up. Could this become a formidable replacement for the famed J Wray & Nephew 17-year Trader Vic used in his original Mai Tai? My head swimming with possibilities, I poured a few ounces into my snifter and got to work.
Before we get on to the tasting notes, let’s pause to discuss the bottle. The classic wine bottle-shaped vessel is clear with an antiqued label (fake tattered edges) that shows an old map of Jamaica. The bottle itself is crisscrossed in raffia just like their 5-year Barbados bottling. The stopper is a light colored, tight natural cork with a gold plastic cap.
In the glass, the rum is copper with gold highlights. It’s quite bright and attractive, actually. A swirl of the glass produces a thin ring atop the glass, then a host of drops-to-be appear to hang around for quite a while before meandering south.
The mildly astringent nose carries the prototypical Jamaican pot-stilled funk straight to my sensory center. Although very funky, the “estery” dunder note is well-refined and softened–a standard of Plantation’s finishing. The next aromas are of tropical fruit: banana and pineapple principally among them.
As I take my first taste, there is a significant smoky quality that is carried in on a sweet wave of maple syrup and diluted molasses. The sweetness is counterbalanced by the spice: black pepper, allspice and nutmeg. Subsequent sips bring even more complexity: leather and tobacco combine with chocolate and dried apricot. I’m not usually a big fan of tobacco and leather notes in rums, but somehow this is working beautifully here. The flavors in the long finish change continuously as the flavors fade, moving from sweet to dry, leaving me to wonder “What exactly did I just taste?”
The Plantation 2000, Jamaica is a truly unique rum that would be at home on the shelf of any rum connoisseur. If you like Jamaican rum, you owe it to yourself to buy a bottle. You will not be disappointed!
- Appearance 1/1
- Aroma 2/2
- Mouth feel 1/1
- Taste 3/4
- Aftertaste 2/2
- Total 9/10
Inu A Kena 
Plantation 5 year Barbados – beats this hands down and the price of it by far a better deal.
A completely different animal, JJ.