Rum Review: Trader Joe's Panama Rum

 

Rum Review:

Trader Joe's Panama Rum

What It Is

If you're not familiar with Trader Joe's, it's a national chain of grocery stores known for unique seasonal food and drink products, low prices, and friendly Hawaiian shirt clad staff.  I tried Trader Joe's Panama Rum which checks all the boxes for "unique" and "seasonal" and "drink products" and... "low prices."  I shelled out a modest $15 to try this 80-proof five-year-old rum made in Panama with limited availability.

What Went In

In went fermented sugar cane or sugar cane molasses (probably from Panama?) into a still, and out came distillate.  According to the label, the distillate went into Bourbon Barrels and spent five years  aging in the wood (also in Panama?).  Then to pack in a little more flavor the aged distillate was, per the label "shipped" to Sonoma (definitely not Panama) and then spent a little more time in wine barrels.

How It Came Out

It's definitely a sweet, light tasting, smooth rum.  I pick up a whisper of brown sugar; a suggestion of Molasses.  Maybe raisin at the end? I know it's not spiced rum, but it's rather muted.  And that was drunk "neat."  

It absolutely meets my expectation of a $15 rum.  This is probably ideal for a mixer.  I wouldn't hesitate to pour it into some rum 'n' cokes (could this technically make a Cuba Libre if its from Panama?) But even a Daiquiri or another Boat Drink that has heavy sweet and sour flavors might overpower its sublime flavor profile.  This is a Rum that went through a double maturation process, which commands a premium price in Scotch Whisky.  Here, it's under $20.  It feels like somebody went to a lot of work to move rum through time and space and didn't get a ton of flavor for their effort.

If you know me, you know I love a good value.  If you're looking for a good value and are making a drink where the rum is basically going to be in a co-starring role, look no further than Trader Joe's Panama Rum.