Aged for 7 years, Old Monk is one of India's most popular rums.
Nico's tasting notes
Summary: molasses - caramel - pralines - toast - coffee - sweet
The nose of this rum is deep and very heavy. Its woodiness is full and heady, loaded with molasses and caramel. The nuts are full-bodied, and when combined with caramel, recall nougatine or praline. It's very pastry-like, not creamy or candied, but praline-like. There's a hint of orange zest in the dark chocolate, followed by freshly roasted, sweet coffee. A hint of vanilla crosses the nose from time to time, with a few whiffs of caramelizing pralines.
Passing the rum around the rim of the glass, the spirit remains the same, with a few gourmet variations. The molten sugar used to make the pralines is also spiced. There's a cereal side of toasted bread, or even brioche drizzled with maple syrup, followed by caramelized, highly roasted nuts. All these aromas are very full and heavy, and continue with chocolate, peanuts, coffee, milk jam...
The palate entry is both very thick and very burnt, with sugar and the powdery, mineral aspect of charcoal or burnt coffee. This mouthfeel is at least as heavy as the nose, the nuts very puffy and soft at their core. Once again, one thinks of toast that has first been soaked in very sweet coffee. The molasses is thick too, mingling with maple syrup, caramel and a paste of roasted nuts.
The finish retains the molasses side of the rum, with almost juicy licorice and a toasty sensation on the tongue.
"This rum is quite impressively thick, a chewy rum reminiscent of molasses itself..."
