Cruzan Single Barrel Estate Rum: One of the Caribbean's Finest Exports

Rums, like other types of liquor, are offered in many different tastes but all use the same base ingredient (sugar cane) to give them their unique flavor. One of the better rums available is Cruzan Single Barrel Estate Rum, a product of the U.S. Virgin Islands. Let’s take a closer look at this rum and how it stacks up to other popular rums:

Basic Characteristics of This Liquor:

Cruzan Single Barrel Estate Rum is a dark rum that has a brown/yellowish color combination and an aroma that combines alcohol, vanilla, and a touch of molasses, butterscotch, and maple. The body of this rum is medium in consistency and it flows freely a glass.

This rum offers an interesting array of flavors. I can detect vanilla, some honey, alcohol, and oak flavors immediately. There is also a taste of alcohol, but it isn’t as pronounced as some other rums and it results in a smooth finish that goes down with no burn and only a small amount of spiciness. The overall taste is dry and clean.

Cruzan Single Barrel Estate Rum is triple distilled and aged for two to four years in bourbon oak barrels. It is 80 proof (40 percent alcohol), which is the typical strength of most distilled spirits.

Drinks Made with This Liquor:

Here are a few interesting drinks to make with this rum:

Singapore Rum Sling

1 oz. Cruzan Single Barrel Estate Rum
1 oz. Orange Rum
1 oz. Lemonade
Club soda

Combine the two rums and lemonade in a tall glass over ice. Add club soda and garnish with a maraschino cherry.

Caribbean Old Fashioned

2 oz. Cruzan Single Barrel Estate Rum
1 teaspoon sugar
Orange slice
Dash of bitters
Club soda

Muddle the orange in an old fashioned glass, fill with ice, and then add remaining ingredients. Garnish with a cherry.

Hot Rum Chocolate

1 oz. Cruzan Single Barrel Estate Rum
5 oz. Hot Cocoa
Whipped Cream

Pour rum and cocoa into an Irish coffee mug and top with whipped cream.

Honey Bee Cocktail

2 oz. Cruzan Single Barrel Estate Rum
.5 oz. lemon juice
.25 oz. honey

Shake all three ingredients and then strain into a cocktail glass.

Final Thoughts:

Cruzan Single Barrel Estate Rum is a very good product distilled by the Cruzan Rum distillery on the island of St. Croix. This distillery first opened its doors in 1760 and it has been producing quality products ever since.

Cruzan rums are all better than average in quality and the ones I am most familiar with are the flavored rums in the Cruzan family. These flavored products (vanilla, pineapple, orange, mango, etc.) are very popular and very easy to find. Most liquor stores carry several of them and they continue to win over new fans every day. But this particular rum, Cruzan Single Barrel Estate, is not so easy to find and I had not sampled it in a long time. I got the chance to enjoy it again on a recent vacation trip to the Bahamas. I had forgotten how great tasting this rum is and I had a nice, re- acquainting experience with Cruzan while on vacation.

What I like best about this rum is its complex flavors and its smooth finish. The flavors of vanilla, oak, molasses, and maple are the most dominant and they make for a great tasting rum straight up or served with a little bit of club soda or water, for maximum taste. The other great thing about Cruzan Single Barrel Estate Rum is the smoothness. There is little harshness at all in the finish and it tastes clean and dry, the way good rum should.

Cruzan Rum is a richer, fuller- bodied rum than most others and because of this it makes a good choice for drier drinks that emphasize the flavor of rum. It is still good when used as an ingredient for sweeter drinks like Planter’s Punch and other fruity drinks. But with those types of drinks, the sweet fruity flavors can sometimes mask some of Cruzan’s good taste. This is why I like it best served in dry drinks or in drinks that call for only a couple of ingredients so that you can sip slowly and enjoy the good taste of Cruzan Single Barrel Estate. Simple drinks like Seven Up and Rum or Rum and Coke taste delicious with this product. Seven Up and Coke are both sweet but if mixed in the right proportions, you get a balanced drink that allows the great taste of the rum to shine through.

Cruzan Single Barrel Estate Rum has received several awards including the prestigious honor of “World’s Best Rum” at the 2000 World Spirits competition in San Francisco. This rum, and other Cruzan rum products, has been recognized in many other awards also. Its complex flavor profile and smoothness win over many adherents. It isn’t surprising that this rum has received so much recognition.

Overall, Cruzan Single Barrel Estate Rum is one of my favorite dark rums and it ranks among the world’s finest distilled spirits. It is one of the few rums that I like drinking straight up or with soda just as much as I like drinking in mixed drinks. The surprising smoothness and combination of flavors make this dark rum one of the world’s finest.


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