Trader Vic's Private Selection Spiced Rum

I bought a bottle of Trader Vic’s Spiced Rum for a cocktail I wanted to make.  I was curious why it called for this specific spiced rum, so I deduced that a tasting was in order! (Any excuse, right…)

Trader Vic’s Spiced Rum can be found a most liquor stores.  The bottle has a few important notes.  The rum claims to have been made “since 1934”, claims to be “Private Selection”, and has 35% alcohol.  The ABV for rum is usually 40%, so this was intriguing.  Would it play into the overall characteristics?  Only time would tell.

Vic’s has a golden-amber hue that is a touch lighter than other spiced rums I’ve had.  The light hue and light ABV were mirrored in the light and subtle flavors in the rum.  This is certainly a drinking rum, made for cocktails and straight drinking, not for covering with heavy mixers like cola.  The flavors or vanilla and exotic spices, paired with slight phenols, go down smoothly and unobtrusively.  Certainly, this is one of the better spiced rums I’ve had the pleasure of trying.

Overall, I would say that Trader Vic’s is worth the 15.99 I paid for it, and it lends itself to a connoisseur’s liquor cabinet quite well indeed.