Asda Caribbean Spiced Rum

Price:
£11.87 - 70cl

Asda's Caribbean spiced rum was recommended by a work colleague, and she was kind enough to bring a bottle when we invited her over for dinner. Spiced rum has never been a spirit I've been hugley keen on, and there have been times where I've not had one in stock at all. The issue for me is that there is such a variety of products in the market with very different flavour profiles. Because of this, it's hard to pinpoint exactly which product this Asda variety is trying to target. It's certainly very different to the spiced rums which I have bought before such as Bacardi Oakheart or Sailor Jerry.

After enjoying this bottle very much (evidenced by the fact that it barely lasted a fortnight), I have to say, it comes highly recommended as a mixer. Whilst it doesn't have the subtle smoothness of Sailor Jerry, or the aged cask taste of Oakheart, this cheap rum is fantastic with coke, and I actually prefer it as a coke mixer to the more expensive brand names. The favour is very full on, with strong vanilla and caramel flavourings. On it's own, this would be way too heavy, and even in a more rum-fronted cocktail such as a Mai Tai, this rum is too strong and overpowers the other flavours. 

On New Year's Eve, we had several friends over and a bottle of this rum was bought. It was a huge hit, and didn't last the night, with several friends commenting that they would be picking up a bottle in the near future. There's no better compliment than that. If top quality, refined spiced rums are your thing, then this may be too full-on for you, but as a mixer with coke, this is a definite winner and well worth trying for under £12 a bottle. 

*EDIT* - Since reviewing this product, it's been pointed out to me that no where on the bottle is it actually labelled as "rum". A careful reading of the label shows that it is actually a neutral spirit infused with spiced rum style flavours. Bad form Asda... Marks off for this, despite it tasting pretty decent.