Product: Brinley Gold Vanilla Rum Producer: Brinley Approximate Retail Value: $22 Category: Rum Country of Origin: Carribean Reviewer: R. Pietsch The F Words: Flavor – Sweet and similar to vanilla beans Feel – Heavy and almost syrupy Finish – Long but delicious

Rating:

I stopped at my favorite liquor store to load up for the weekend. There was a tasting in progress, so I enjoyed a sample. Never has a free sample led directly to me buying a bottle on the spot. That’s the effect of Brinley Gold Vanilla Rum. One taste and you’re hooked.

I took a break from work to walk down the street and pick up a couple bottles for the weekend. Of course, I waited until after 4:00, as that’s when the free booze starts to flow. Normally, I encounter some undrinkable crap or a tried and true favorite. Every now and then, though, the liquor store offers something that is actually worth trying – or in this case, worth buying.

Brinley Gold Vanilla Rum is stronger (74 proof) than your rail rums, but you would never guess it. You can roll Brinley Gold Vanilla Rum over your tongue for minutes waiting for it to bite. It never does. Instead, Brinley Gold Vanilla Rum is ridiculously smooth. The vanilla flavor tastes natural. In other words, real vanilla beans are used, not some cheap knock-off flavoring.

To grasp every last aspect of the flavor, pour Brinley Gold Vanilla Rum into a glass, neat. Take a single whiff and you’ll realize that the nose conveys it all. Warm, spicy vanilla, just like what’s inside. You can look at the way Brinley Gold Vanilla Rum runs down the sides of your glass. This is not some watery, over-processed swill. This is serious. What’s amazing is that Brinley Gold Vanilla Rum still tastes like rum – not the Captain Morgan’s generally paired with Coca Cola, but actual aged rum.

I always have been a proponent of strong, flavored rums simply because they can support some fine cocktails. To be very clear, this is not your Bacardi Vanil or Malibu. Brinley offers some marvelous ideas of how to mix it to form unique cocktails, though it towers over other rums when standing alone. It’s a top-shelf buy, and at this point I believe relatively hard to find. But, it’s a steal at $22 and if you find it on the shelf you should most certainly give it a try.

Brinley Gold Vanilla Rum is a phenomenal rum. I never imagined a rum flavored so strongly could have so much depth and be so complex. Taste-tasting is absolutely necessary. I usually question the companies that give away tastes of their gnarly take on toffee cream or whatever. But, here is a true testament to the actual quality of this drink.