Father’s day treated me well this year – a shiny bottle of Brugal 1888 Ron Gran Reserva Familiar joined my collection (Dominican rum distiller). It’s a blend of rums aged 5 to 14 years. It was given to me courtesy of some random guy at the liquor store. **My mom actually paid for it, but said random rum lover gushed over the Brugal 1888 Reserva, so I went with it.

The Brugal isn’t as dark and rich in appearance as say, Diplomatico Reserva Exclusiva, but it’s still appealing to the eye.  It has plenty of legs that reveal a light bodied rum – when swirled in your glass, it settles down the sides quickly and in thin lines.  So, how does it taste?  The Brugal Reserva offering is subtle to start, but comes on strong with cinnamon and caramel.  Harshness follows with hints of vanilla.  I kept waiting for the finish to……well…..finish. But the bite lingered and fluctuated between smokiness and spices, and left me wanting a smooth run for my next sip that didn’t come.  You could even call it an imposter – a rum that poses as a scotch (**for the record, I love scotch).  At $62+ for a bottle, I can think of a number of cheaper offerings I prefer.  I’m not saying this is poor quality rum – far from it.  It’s just that I wouldn’t drink this again if I’m buying.  No offense mom and random liquor store guy.