Notes: The top-selling rum in its native land, Puerto Rico, Don Q was little known anywhere else ’til recently. Long a producer for other rum lines, they decided to get credit where credit is due by putting their own name on their products. All natural, and in the case of their flavored rums, all natural flavorings, Don Q offers a variety of rums of various ages and price points along with a few flavored rums.They include the Cristal, Gold, Anejo and the Grand Anejo in the unflavored line and this the  Pasión, along with the  Coco, Limón, and Mojito in the flavored line.

Appearance: Crystal clear,very slight tan color on swirling  with an unusual rapidly and evenly descending edgeline after swirling. No separation of alcohol and oils.

First Impression: At least with Don Q the  Passion Flower smell to it tastes like what it is made from – passion-flower – unlike many other flavored rums who seem to like using chemical esters and perfumes to try to achieve the same effect.The rum is very much in the background behind the aromatic oils cover it and push the rum into the background without overwhelming it. Unusual that they took the time to do this right and without resorting to artificial flavoring/chemicals takes a lot of dedication (and no small expense) to capture the essence so faithfully.

Taste: Very smooth and seductive, especially when served with ice. Oily, with a touch of minerals and sweetness to it. Lingering but pleasant (read not sticky cloying like many) notes of passion flower and it seems like a cherry and vanilla also or maybe some other stone fruits. A much deeper sort of taste than one would expect form just passion flowers. Even though I am not usually of flavored rum this one is decent for what it is.

Drinks: Pina Coladas of course, assorted Tiki type drinks, experimented with a Last Word variation using it instead of Maraschino liqueur and that was interesting too. May have to explore more drinks such as a Blood and Sand variation swapping out the Maraschino for this.

Cigars: A bit too delicate for most cigars but cuts cigar taste wonderfully.

Bottle: Clear glass with lightly translucent frosting. Lettering and design are all silk screened directly onto the glass. Very pleasing and attractive proportions and lines to the bottle. Black neckwrap with red lettering”Pasión” in script and black ribbed screw off cap ,anti refill insert i the neck of the bottle to prevent a Bacardi or similar rum downpour. Their trademark “knight on horse” (who could that be?) silk-screened on front.

Final Thoughts: Very well made. If you want a Passion Flower rum,  ( or a sweeter fruity flavored rum) forget the other Puerto Rican Rum and grab this one.

Web site:: http://www.donq.com or http://destileriaserralles.com/

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