Diplomatico Reserva Blanco 40%
50% 2 year old column still rum/ 50% 6 year old pot still rum. Charcoal Filtered to remove the colour
Tasted: Apr 2010
Deep and aromatic with light died fruits, coconut and a hint of botanicals. Very soft and slightly creamy with vanilla and pure cocoa bean aromas.
The palate is a soft as the nose suggests, opening with more of the creamy vanilla oak before moving into the light died fruit and botanicals. Very smooth and well balanced. Lovely length with a cocoa bean finish.
Diplomatico Reserva Blanco 40%
Re-Tasted: July 2014
Full, soft and rounded aromas with a lovely balance of pot still richness and column still crispness. Softly spiced with vanilla, dried coconut and banana.
The palate is gently vanilla’d with hints of molasses, dried coconut and crisp spice. Lovely depth with a touch of dried fruit, toffee and milk chocolate. Good, crisp, grainy column still finish.
Diplomatico Reserva Blanco 40%
Re-Tasted: Mar 2016
The nose displays a lovely combination of heavy pot still and fresher, lightly grainy column still notes along with a touch of vanilla, dried banana and coconut.
The palate opens with the sweet vanilla along with hints of dried fruit, coconut and lightly oiled pot still character. The grainy column still notes come through on the middle adding a fresher element and give the finish a bit of edginess.
Diplomatico Planas Blanco 47%
50% 2 year old column still rum/ 50% 6 year old pot still rum. Charcoal filtered to remove the colour
Tasted: Feb 2017
The aromas are rounded and full with plenty of vanilla and heavy pot still dried fruit notes.
The palate is crisper and cleaner, opening with the column still spirit. The higher abv seems to give it more spirit focus and thus the oak character is subtler, but possibly a little spicier. Continuing fresh and spicy on the finish with a lightly herbal dried fruit finish.
Diplomatico Anejo 40%
80% Continuous still (molasses based) and 20% Pot Still (sugar cane syrup based)
Aged for approximately 4 years/ Tasted: Apr 2010
A light and elegant nose of dried fruit with hints of mocha, light herbs and liquorice. The palate is equally elegant with dried sultanas and hints of tropical fruit and herbs to begin with. It has a sort of Guyana-esque oiliness. A real hit of flavour on the middle, which was a great deal more intense than the nose suggested. Good length. An ideal mixer.
Diplomatico Anejo 40%
Re-Tasted: July 2014
A lovely crisp and relatively complex nose for a young rum with hints of sultana and toasted banana along with hints of both woody and herbal spice. With time a light, nutty, honeyed note appears.
The palate is soft but crisp with a huge dollop of toffee to somewhat blunt the column still crispness. Hints of raisins and molasses follow as the pot still component punches above it weight, plus mocha and tobacco on the middle. Lovely crisp finish with a touch of milk chocolate, nuts, fudge, light coffee and lingering woody spices. For a young rum it is remarkably complex.
Diplomatico Mantuano 40%
A blend of 60% 4 year old Column Still, 30% 8 year old Pot Still and 10% Batch Kettle Still spirit.
Tasted: Feb 2017
Earthy, but crisp column still notes on the nose with hints of heavier pot still spirit. Chunky dried fruit, molasses and herbal notes follow along with a touch of citrus and vanilla oak.
The palate kicks off with the crisp column still spirit notes with hints of lightly oiled, herbal, dried, raisinated sweet fruit with the oak and pot still notes adding body. Long and subtly spiced with lingering crisp spirit notes and balancing molasses. The higher percentage of column still spirit makes it feel less sweet than the Reserva Exclusiva.
Diplomatico Reserva 40%
50% Pot still and 50% Continuous still
Aged for approximately 8 years/ Tasted: Apr 2010
Like the Anejo it is elegant but displaying a great deal more depth of oily dried fruits along with hints of caramelised sugar and petrol. Its quiet restrained to begin with but as it warms up, so the sweetness and the broadness increases, and now you get that sticky toffee pudding aroma!
Unlike the nose, it begins quite sweetly, with the dried fruit liberally coated in caramelised cane sugar. Big and full flavoured, and although quite sweet it still retains a lovely elegance. The gorgeous spices really build on the middle and the length is excellent, finishing with hints of liquorice, molasses, dark chocolate and coffee. It starts of quite quietly and builds to a serious crescendo!
Diplomatico Reserva 40%
Re-Tasted: July 2014
An unctuous nose of dried fruit, dark honey and woody spices. The aromas show more of the pot still weight but the column still rum adds a lovely crispness which balances the molasses/ toffee sweetness. With time some light vanilla notes emerge and the spices become increasingly dusty in character.
The palate opens with toffee coated banana, sultana’s, dried plum along with a prune-like note. Hints of dark chocolate, mocha and lightly bitter spices come through on the middle. Like the nose, the heavier pot still rum dominates but a lightly fragrant crispness emerges on the finish an balances the sweet toffee and vanilla, leaving a lightly salted nut after-taste.
Diplomatico Reserva Exclusiva 40%
20% column still rum/ 80% pot still rum/ Aged for approximately 12 years. In a mixture of Old Bourbon, Oloroso and old whisky casks supplied by Diageo.
Tasted: Apr 2010
Very deep in colour and the aromas are likewise. Deep that is! The ageing in ex-whisky casks is definitely noticeable on the nose. The complexity is stunning – Herbal toffee, burnt oak, dried fruit, light Oloroso notes and building vanillins. Finally, after some minutes a hint of floral orange appears and the nose suddenly becomes incredibly floral.
The palate is very sweet with crystalised orange fruit and confected Oloroso notes. It progresses into the customary dried fruit strata, but the sweetness hangs on in there. Some wonderfully soft vanillins appear in mid-palate as do toffee, cream soda and liquorice. Intriguing and almost liqueur like. It’s definitely a desert rum.
Diplomatico Reserva Exclusiva 40%
Re-Tasted: July 2014
The nose is denser and darker than the Reserva with a greater degree of heavy pot still character. Hints of sandalwood, raisins, cane sugar, molasses and crystalised orange mingle with slightly leathery and cigar leaf notes. Extremely complex aromas with the fruit displaying a light jamminess and with time the tropical fruit becomes gently perfumed.
The palate is quite sweet with buckets of milk chocolate, coffee, toffee, maple syrup, dried tropical raisinated fruit, orange and nuts. The coffee comes through quite forcefully on the middle bringing hints of liquorice and cinnamon. Amazing depth and length with a light violet note emerging along with a touch of brown sugar. It may sound like a huge sweet monster but that little amount of column still rum just about balances the sweetness and freshens the finish.
Diplomatico Single Vintage 2000 43%
Batch – AM784
Aged for 12 years in ex-bourbon casks and ex-whisky casks, finished for 2 years in ex-sherry casks
Tasted: July 2014
A lovely, mature nose of vibrant dark chocolate and column still spices. Juicy, moist fruitcake mingles with molasses, clove, tobacco, raisins and distinct sherry cask notes. The spices are quite dry and lightly woody with notes of dried orange/ lemon peel emerging along with some aromatic cigar smoke. In fact it becomes very smoky with time and a delicious sugar cane sweetness emerges along with a little toasted vanilla and milk chocolate. A sensational nose!
The palate is deep, lightly oiled and coffee’d, opening with the sweet, sherry spice, liquorice, cane sugar, brown sugar, raisin, prune, winey blackcurrant and sweet toffee. The American oak vanillins are just about noticeable through the curtain of luscious dried fruit and a touch of leather and tobacco emerges on the middle as a touch of column still crispness balances the sweetness. Lovely, fresh finish as the alcohol comes through. However the mature raisinated fruit lingers along with a light, dry mocha note.
Diplomatico Single Vintage 2002 43%
Batch – AC-984
Pot & Batch Kettle Still spirit, Aged for 12 years in ex-bourbon casks and ex-whisky casks, finished for 2 years in ex-sherry casks.
Rich dark aromas of molasses, walnut and prune with hints of cinnamon, chilli pepper and a lovely combination of rummy dried fruit and Oloroso dried fruit. Very elegant with a subtle citrus note and hints of tobacco leaf, camphor, wood smoke along with subtle coffee and whisky-like notes. Wonderfully fresh, balanced and elegant.
The palate is supremely elegant and fresh with a serious weighty pot still character and no shortage of dried prune, raisin, walnuts and molasses. The combination of alcohol and citrus balances the weight and hints of tobacco, coffee and chocolate develop on the middle. Long, spicy and slightly herbal with the citrus notes really coming through strongly. Beautiful, dusty cocoa powder, wood smoke, tobacco and subtle Oloroso finish.
Diplomatico Ambassador Selection 47%
100% pot still rum. Aged for 12 years in ex-bourbon casks, finished for 2 years in ex-Pedro Ximinex sherry casks
Tasted: July 2014
A sweet and floral nose. Perfumed violets mingle with a touch of port-like black cherry, creamy American oak, cigar boxes, cigar leaf and sweet raisinated, pruny fruit cake. The distinct PX signature of dark, slightly burnt treacle is evident but amazingly well integrated. Oh, and did I mention the spices? Damn they are good! Woody, peppery with a touch of chilli spice, nutmeg, cinnamon and clove oil. A simply stunning nose!
The palate is luscious and sweet, opening with a good dollop of thick, PX treacle and slightly edgy dried fruit. It has an almost Cognac-esque dried fruit rancio along with dusty violets, cinnamon, nutmeg and chilli infused dark chocolate. Rich and chewy with hints of sweet tobacco. An exceptionally long molasses/ coffee finish which is accented by sweet coriander spice A truly multi-dimensional rum which is so smooth it’s untrue.
Diplomatico Distillery Collection: No1 Batch Kettle Still 47%
Distilled from sugar cane honey in the Canadian Batch Kettle still.
Aged for 6 years in ex-American oak whisky casks./ Tasted: Nov 2017
Fresh and slightly citric nose with a subtle dunder-like acidity. Elegant aromas of supple berry fruit, apricot and pineapple with hints of treacle, earth and slightly gritty, but sweet vanilla.
The palate is light in bodied but stunningly deep and elegant with apricot, pineapple, berries and hints of toffee. Hints of treacle and sweet spice come through on the middle along with a touch of toffee, balanced by an almost column still-like graininess and a touch of citrus. Superb finish with loads of smoky, herbal, green oak and almost peated medicinal notes. Wow! That finish came out of left field!
Diplomatico Distillery Collection: No2 Single Barbet 47%
Molasses based, distilled on the French double column Barbet still
American oak/ Tasted: Nov 2017
The nose is pretty full for a column still rum with plenty of rich, dark molasses. Hints of luscious tropical melon, mango and apricot follow, along with subtle wood spices and earth. Given time the aromas begin to lighten and show more column still dried fruit.
The palate is luscious and subtly sweet with banana, toasted oak, toffee and hints of apricot and melon. Again beautifully rich with a touch of column still spices nipping at the edges. Lovely intensity of the lighter dried fruit notes come through on the finish along with hints of violets and some drying tannins. Very impressive.
Whisky According to Chris Whiskyman 