Diplomatico Mantuano Dark Sipping Rum

There’s a lot of tropical fruit in this aroma, with a handful of barrel maturation notes thrown in for good measure. I get some delicious pineapple, coconut, banana, and a touch of brown sugar or molasses around the edges that adds some nice richness.

Those barrel aging components take front and center in the actual flavor, though. The brown sugar is the first thing I get, with a depth and richness that is almost more like sweet molasses. It’s combined with some nice vanilla to give a great sweet and rich foundation for the rest of the flavors in this glass. That richness almost gets to be a little too much as the flavor develops a slight dark chocolate bitterness just before the fruit kicks in. That’s when we finally taste the pineapple and banana flavors quite clearly, combined with some baking spices that make the whole experience a bit more interesting.

On the finish, there’s a bit more of that tartness — but the tropical fruit is really what remains behind in the end.