Review: Ron Diplomatico Ambassador and Single Vintage 2007
Venezuela’s Ron Diplomatico has numerous expressions, with these two releases part of its newish Prestige Range, which continue to push the rum world upmarket. Let’s dig in to each in turn.
Ron Diplomatico Ambassador – Diplomatico’s highest-end expression is “straight from the barrel”… but only 47% abv, which raises an eyebrow or two. Finished in sherry casks and bottled in an impressive decanter, it’s the sippingest of sipping rums from a company known for its opulence. Diplomatico has always been sweet — its rums are famously heavily dosed with added sugar — and here things are a little over the top. The sherry influence gives the nose an immediate richness, nutty and winey, with oxidized fruit notes hanging low. Big brown sugar, studded with raisins, immediately evokes a Sunday morning brunch. The palate has all this and more, filtered through a bold slurry of brown sugar and maple syrup. The sherry-driven qualities temper all the sugar but they can only so far, with notes of baked apples, cinnamon rolls, and juicy raisins ultimately dominating well into the finish. There’s a rich and rewarding rum underneath all the sweetness, but it’s just too blown out with sugar to make its presence felt. 94 proof. B+ / $270 [BUY IT NOW FROM CASKERS] [BUY IT NOW FROM RESERVEBAR]
Ron Diplomatico Single Vintage 2007 – “An ultra-premium rum only produced during exceptional years when our expert Maestros Roneros uncover rums maturing in a unique and extraordinary way. It has been distilled, aged and blended in Venezuela, from cane honey and molasses, using a unique variety of stills and columns.” The final blend of barrels is finished in oloroso sherry casks for an unstated length of time. The rum is on point, offering a nose of brewed tea, coffee, and exotic woods that evoke jasmine and a touch of eucalyptus. The palate is, as always, quite sweet — though that complements the black tea character well, and opens the door on the palate to notes of Maraska cherry, rum raisin ice cream, and a hint of anise. Slight cocoa powder notes linger on a finish that mercifully pulls back the throttle on the sugar. A fantastic sipper. 86 proof. A- / $115 [BUY IT NOW FROM RESERVEBAR]
Ron Diplomatico Ambassador
$270
