Angel's Share Title
Frigate Reserve Rum 8
I was walking the aisles of one of my local stores when I spotted this long necked bulbous bottle that reminded me of the antique onion bottles commonly used during the Age of Exploration. The labels identified the product as being a 40% ABV rum from Panama, but provided no additional information about the product. While preparing for this review, I checked the website and discovered that the creators of the rum actually engineered a 21 year old and then dialed their blend components down so they could offer an 8, 12, and 15 year old expression. To make their products, they collaborated with Don Pancho Fernandez of PILSA Rums, a company that has been behind a prolific amount of privately owned rum blends.
Frigate Reserve Rum 8
Appearance
As mentioned in the introduction, this 750 ml long neck bottle stands out when you see it lined up with other bottles in the rum aisle. A metal coin is set in the center of the bottle above the label and has the words “Life on the Wing”. The neck of the bottle is wrapped in a clear security wrap and encloses a wrap that helps secure a wooden cap that holds a synthetic cork to the bottle. The liquid holds a golden amber color in the bottle and lightens to a pale hay color in the glass. Swirling the liquid created a thin band that slowly thickened and released one round of fast-moving legs and then slowly released a second round of slow-moving legs before leaving a thick ring of residue around the glass.
Nose
When I poured the rum into the glass, it released a strong vanilla note into the air. This quickly dissipated, and after the glass had rested for a minute, I found a light sweet honey note along with charred oak, acidic black pepper, and ethyl alcohol/acetate in the aroma.
Palate
The first sip delivered a caramel/butterscotch note and conditioned the tongue with the expected note of alcohol. With additional sips, I found astringent charred oak notes, graphite, black pepper, and metallic acetate notes in the flavor profile. The finish is not pleasant, with the astringency of the oak notes dominating and lingering for several minutes.
Review
I tend to enjoy rums that are in the 7-12 year range, and unfortunately, this completely missed the mark for me. The overall flavor profile just felt thin and flat, with the acidic oak char and other flavors dominating the profile and beating down the sweet caramel note found at the entry. As the youngest rum in the portfolio, I am a little curious about how the rum evolved over time, but after this experience, I do not feel inclined to seek out the other ones. This is a case where, sadly, the look of the bottle was the best part of the experience. If you are curious about this rum line, I recommend passing on this one and going for one of the older expressions.
