Review: Ten To One Five Origin Select Rum
Ten To One has been doing great things with its rum blending efforts, and its latest release is a permanent addition to the lineup instead of a limited one-off. Five Origin Select includes — you guessed it — give different rums from Trinidad, Barbados, the Dominican Republic, and Jamaica, plus one special addition: An 11- to 15-year-old Guyanese rum distilled on the famed Port Mourant Double Wooden pot still, the only one of its kind still in operation.
Any good blended rum should offer a greatest hits of rum’s most engaging flavors, and Five Origin Select does that with ease.
The slightest bit racy on the nose thanks to its 46% abv, the rum features straightforward aromas of vanilla and caramel, sweet molasses, and a touch of cotton candy. Overripe banana provides a touch of fruit, but nothing overly distinctive or overpowering. All told, it just smells like a moderately aged rum, ready to hit a mai tai.
The palate is a bit toastier and more wood-driven, with a coconut bent that fits well alongside the core, which approximates a rather sweet vanilla custard. Lemon curd becomes more immersive as the marshmallow-fluffed finish arrives, alongside a layer of spices — ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg at the forefront.
It’s a versatile and well-rounded rum that may not break any new ground but which takes the drinker on a lovely little world tour of rum’s greatest hits — albeit one writ small. (Try it as a mixer with the limited edition Coca-Cola Spiced, and tell me I’m wrong.)
92 proof.
A- / $65 / tentoonerum.com
Ten To One Five Origin Select Rum
$65
