Review by: DemiTastes
Disclaimer: I’m primarily a whiskey taster, and I know very little about rum overall, but I’ve come to rather enjoy it. I’ve experienced what seem to me to be some far corners of the rum world, from Balcones Texas White Rum to Hamilton Saint Lucia Pot Still Rum, to rums with considerable age, but I’m still developing a palate for tasting notes. Thanks for bearing with me!
In the Fall of 2022, Westward released their “Rum Cask” as the quarterly Westward Club bottling. The label reads “American Single Malt Whiskey Finished in the Finest Guatemalan Rum Casks,” and Westward gave a bottle of this Guatemalan rum as a gift to new Westward Club members that quarter. I was told that this rum was the rum previously held in those casks — or since this is a “Ron Blanco,” which my whiskey-acclimated brain interprets as “unaged,” maybe it was a similar rum from the same brand.
I’ve grown to like a moderate dose of funk and esters in my rum, but not only was this pretty funk- and ester-free, this was also quite subdued upon opening and pouring, perhaps because of the low proof and/or the style of rum. I know pretty much nothing about Guatemalan rum in particular and knew nothing at all about this brand going into this dram.
After having tasted this, I went in for some research on this bottle and style:
According to Distiller:
Casa Magdalena Ron Blanco is a collaboration between Portland, Oregon’s House Spirits and Ingenio Magdalena, S.A., the largest producer of sugar in Central America. Molasses is column-distilled in Guatemala at the Magdalena Distillery to produce the rum according to specifications between the two entities. It is then shipped to the US in tankers and is matured in American whiskey barrels at House Spirits warehouse for about six months. Bottled at 41.5% ABV after being lightly filtered.
“Silver rum” AKA Blanco, Light, White. Rum that is usually aged (but not always) and carbon-filtered to remove any color. No specific type or size barrel required. No set time required for aging for most countries with a few exceptions.
Cask type: ex-American Whiskey Barrels
Another source’s (Uptown Spirits) product listing says it’s distilled from cane juice rather than molasses, and the blurb appears to be written by the distillery. That inconsistency between sources is of little importance to me at this point because I feel this rum is bland enough that it doesn’t tell me much about the Guatemalan style or rum in general.
Distillery: Casa Magdalena
Bottler: Casa Magdalena
Region: Guatemala
ABV: 41.25%
Age: “ron blanco” – little to no age
Cask type: ex-American Whiskey Barrels
Price: $23
Color: 0.1 white wine (or less, but not quite 0.0 gin clear)
Nose: Pretty faint. Cotton candy. SweetTarts candy: citric edge and artificially flavored candy vibes. Sweet sugar cane juice without much grassiness. A shiny “chemical” note like mild window cleaner.
Palate: Watery mouthfeel, no heat on arrival. Mildly sweet rock sugar candy. The sugar is slightly in the direction of demerara in character. No other detectable flavors. Good news: no real off notes. That is, until you take a big mouthful, and you get a little bit more of cane juice along with a moderate helping of acetone. Certain aspects of the palate are pretty similar to the rather thin and mild Kirkland Canadian whisky I have. However, I poured that on the side and it’s way more distinct. I cannot overstate just how thin and mild the flavors in this rum are.
Finish: Medium. Heat arrives at the back of the throat. Very little flavor. Aftertaste of artificial sweetener and of putting fake maple syrup on bland pancakes.
Conclusion:
This is a spirit almost entirely without character to me. An unfortunate burn at the back of the throat doesn’t come with any flavorful payoff. This is not something I could ever enjoy neat, and I doubt I’d notice it in any cocktail.
This begs for comparison with other spirits, if only to ensure it’s not my palate having a particularly off day. (I held back this review to confirm with a later tasting. I had a slightly better opinion on a second pass, but not by much.) This is distinctly milder in flavor and heavier on the burn than Bacardi Silver. The mild sugarcane juice and rock candy sweetness (with a hint of vanilla in a side-by-side) is a bit different from the cut green apples and mild pineapple juice of Bacardi but, importantly, Bacardi really tastes like rum on its own and in a cocktail, whereas this feels like an indistinctly flavored vodka. The Kirkland Canadian whisky, simple and relatively one-note, feels devoid of character on the whiskey spectrum but is still a distinct tier above this in flavor density.
For my palate, this is unenjoyable rum: it’s unremarkable in general. Unenjoyable neat, but not because it’s ugly, it’s just really plain: barely more flavor than vodka. This will be fine in the kind of drink you’d bury some rum in just to add some booze — the kind of thing you’d use Bacardi Silver or even vodka for. Unfortunately I still have a fair amount of Bacardi Silver to use this way, and I prefer not to waste my liver on drinking stuff I can’t taste. This is an unfortunate addition to my bar.
Buy a bottle? No. I do not recommend this; it’s way too expensive for what it is. If you want a rum, buy something with more character at or below this price. If you want booze with minimal flavor, there’s good vodka available for less as well.
Final Score: 45
(DemiTastes Review #73, Rum #1)
Scoring Legend:
- 95-100: As good as it gets. Jaw-dropping, eye-widening, unforgettable whisky.
- 90-94: Sublime, a personal favorite in its category.
- 85-89: Excellent, a standout dram.
- 80-84: Quite good. Quality stuff.
- 75-79: Decent whisky worth tasting.
- 70-74: Meh. It’s definitely drinkable, but it can do better.
- 60-69: Not so good. I might not turn down a glass if I needed a drink.
- 50-59: Save it for mixing.
- 0-49: Blech.
Malt Runners 
