As is expected of Plantation rums this is presented beautifully. It has been given a more distinctive appearance than the standard island bottlings from the normal Plantation range. Unlike most Plantation rums there is no added sugar.

Took me a few sips to get some of a flavor profile because in each sip, once the taste buds detected something, my throat and tongue got a sound thrashing from the 69% ABV (138 proof). The label tasting notes say: “It bursts with caramel cream, chocolate, and vanilla notes. It continues on with cinnamon, raisins, nutmeg, oak, and molasses with smoky accents.”Low ester levels in Jamaican rum, from say 0 to 50 g/hL AA, are associated with lightly flavored rums. For comparison’s sake, the ester levels of most vodkas are close to 0 g/hL AA. Smith & Cross Jamaican rum, well known for its funkiness, has an ester level of around 200 g/hL AA. Rum Fire Overproof from Hampden Estate is around 500 g/hL AA. The maximum ester count that Jamaican law allows for export is 1600 g/hL AA. From firsthand experience, rums at that ester level are essentially undrinkable after a few sips. A pot stilled, lightly aged rum at 150 proof invites obvious comparison to the venerable Lemon Hart 151, a mainstay of the Tiki canon. However, the French oak aging, some of it in ex-Cognac, suggests a different flavor profile. The rum is described as “quite heavy rum, focused on body strength, alcohol and chocolate notes, thanks to higher alcohol level.” This brand is essentially Plantation’s slightly more approachable (but unsweetened) take on the higher-ester, funkier Jamaican rum that is so beloved by the rum community, and increasingly being discovered by the average consumer. This is a 100% pot still blend of rums from Jamaica’s Clarendon and Long Pond distilleries, coming from John Dore and Vendome pot stills, lightly aged for 1-3 years tropically and then married for 1 years in France in Ferrand casks previously used to mature cognac. In this way, Plantation puts their signature spin on this Jamaican rum, although in this case there’s no dosage, which is what makes this one “special dry.” Fans of Jamaican “funk” should know that this one is modestly estery, at 156 g/hL AA. It is tough to make a great overproof rum, but our friends at Plantation have done quite a good job of it. Let us honor their hard work of delving through hundreds of samples and historic reference points by taking a hearty pull from the OFTD flagon, no? The 1990s see Alexandre Gabriel combing the Caribbean in search of the best rums of the region. Plantation is born: an artisanal range of rums from the great terroirs of the tropics. Fifteen years of dedicated rum-making later, in 2012, Alexandre is awarded Master Blender in the “World’s Best” rum awards, wins the prestigious GOLDEN BARREL AWARD and was named Distiller of the Year by THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE.

All measurements below are in standard units of grams per hectoliter (100 liters) of absolute alcohol. (g/hL AA)It’s perhaps unsurprising, then, that the casual rum drinker and the serious rum geek often have wildly differing reactions and estimation of a company like Plantation Rum. This is a complex topic; one that takes into account ownership, secondary finishing practices, legal lobbying and transparency in labeling. Suffice to say, the Plantation brand has long been something of a lightning rod for discussion among rum devotees. While the O.F.T.D. label says it’s a blend of Barbados, Jamaica, and Guyanese rums, Plantation internally breaks these up into four categories: Barbados Rum Ein handwerklich perfekt gemachter Rum, ist bei diesem "Blender Team" auch nicht anders zu erwarten.

I really like the O.F.T.D. in rum and cola’s. It is similar in many ways to Pusser’s. It’s quite sweet but at the same time has quite a lot of “oommph” to it. Which I think is what you want in a rum and cola – especially on a cold night. Pôvodne boli všetky rumy destilované v malých bankách. Dnes sa však väčšina rumov destiluje kontinuálne v stĺpcoch. Táto moderná destilačná metóda, ktorú Kuba prvýkrát prijala v 19. storočí, umožňuje rýchlejšiu a plynulejšiu výrobu. Destilácia v kotli je stále dlhšia a ťažko zvládnuteľná, ale stále sa praktizuje na Jamajke, na Barbadose, v Svätej Lucii, na Haiti a v Guyane. Zrenie

Rum: Plantation O.F.T.D. Overproof

Cask type/Age: ex-Bourbon, ex-Cognac casks, 2008 distillation. 7 years in ex-bourbon, then 1.5 years minimum in ex-cognac casks The nose is surprisingly sweet. I would suggest the Demerara element of the blend is providing much of that. High ABV youthful Demerara can be very sweet smelling, even without any added sugar. It’s a sweet yet almost bitter, molasses heavy nose. Fruity notes such as Damson Jam and some Banana coming in from the Jamaican element. O.F.T.D. Rum is Plantations take on the classic style of overproof rums. Alexandre Gabriel scoured rum joints around the world to find six grizzled old salts who knew which end of a rum bottle was which.