justintoxicate 11:30 pm on June 27, 2015
Tags: , , Fiji, ,   

Spiced Rum Round 2 – Captain Morgan (Champ) VS Devil’s Triangle (Challenger)

image

Welcome to Round 2! Tonight we have the previous champ Captain Morgan which I liked because of its mixability, up against Devil’s triangle which brings a whole different set of spices to the Rum arena. This time it’s an equal battle of 35%’ers. Check out Round 1 here.

wpid-img_20150628_002737.jpg

1) Original Spiced Rum – Captain Morgan (Diageo),35% ABV – 750ml, (Global), $29 CAD @ BC Liquor Stores

wpid-img_20150628_002842.jpg

  • blend of Caribbean and Canadian rum
  • lighter in colour, aged in oak barrels for up to 1 year. Caribbean spices used (wiki)

wpid-img_20150628_003003.jpg

2) Devil’s Triangle Spiced Rum – Independent Liquor (NZ), 35% ABV – 750ml, (Product of Fiji), ~$23 CAD @ liquor stores in Edmonton, AB

  • …a fiery blend of vanilla, butterscotch, cinnamon and secret spices unlike any other. (on the back label)
  • No product information; A Google search of “Independent Liquor Ltd.” points to their website but the rum is absent from their portfolio

Criteria

Nose:

  • Captain Morgan (CM) has a very clean vanilla extract nosing intermixed with bearable but apparent alcohol detection.
  • Devil’s Triangle (DT) comes out swinging with huge butterscotch but somewhat plasticky, in an off-putting way. Barely any nasal burn in there though, good job.
  • CM = vanilla+caramel, DT = plastic butterscotch. CM because DT’s plastic is giving me a headache.

Taste & Texture:

  • CM starts of watery thin, just like from what I tasted in Round 1. Flavour delivery comes in the midpalate with vanilla, cola caramel, nutmeg. It finishes with a medium top-of-mouth to the back of throat numbness. Too thin-bodied to be a sipper.
  • Devil’s Triangle, BAM! Instant sugar cane (6/10)-sweetness, even thinner mouthfeel, quick transition to the mids with a spicy heat tingliness, butterscotch backbone, caramel, cinnamon, nutmeg, tongue numbness, wet woodiness. It ends with a butterscotch exhale, light heat caramel finish.
  • CM = thin-bodied vanilla+cola, BM = bursting sweet spicy butterscotch

In a Rum & Coke

wpid-img_20150628_022231.jpg

  • Captain & Coke, super smooth, lots of caramel, lime peel bitterness, lime oils = clean and light.
  • Devil’s Triangle & Coke is immediate butterscotch, plasticky, caramel cola, cloying = has more flavour, but possibly offensive.

Final Notes:

  • Captain Morgan is smooth as usual, though safe and not groundbreaking.
  • Devil’s Triangle, decent as a sipper, too overpowering as a mixer.

WINNER = Captain Morgan, since I primarily buy inexpensive spiced rums as mixers, not sippers. DT isn’t good enough to be a standalone sipper IMO.