Plantation 3 Stars is a white rum from the French based bottling giant Plantation . The name is coined from the 3 “stars” of the Caribbean from which the rum is obtained. Namely Jamaica, Barbados and Trinidad. As with most of the Plantation rums there is no age statement.

White rum hasn’t featured a great deal on the site so far. This is something I am trying to address. Whilst white rum is often seen as mixing rum for cocktails such as the Daiquiri and the Mojito, I have noted that this and the El Dorado 3 Years Cask Aged have received favourable reviews by other reviewers.

A british retailer/supermarket Marks and Spencer have links with Cognac Ferrand (producers of the Plantation line of rums). I have reviewed a couple of Marks and Spencer rums and research confirmed that they were both sourced from Cognac Ferrand. Marks and Spencer in order to remain competitive recently began stocking brand name goods. Previously only own brand spirits were available in store. So it came as a nice surprise when I found a bottle of the Plantation 3 stars on their shelves.

The price was £21.95 for a 70cl bottle. Unusually the rum is bottled at the rather baffling 41.2% (very accurate). The presentation of the 3 star is very good. Unlike the smaller stubby bottles that house the Barbados 5 and the Guatemalan Gran Anejo the 3 Stars does not have any netting around the bottle. The bottle is taller and has Plantation in raised lettering below the label and the Plantation logo above the label. The bottled is closed with a plastic stopper with a synthetic cork. The label as can be seen from the photographs has a slightly “cock eyed” appearance and is sealed by the 3 stars sticker. Overall the presentation is very good and the label consists of a story about the rum and 3 stars of the Caribbean. It’s all very nice and is a welcome step up from most white rums on the market.

The rum is crystal clear. This would suggest that the rum is not aged for any considerable length of time. Even Havana Club’s 3 Anos has a slightly yellow tinge to it. Whilst this could be down to better filtration (or more filtering thus less flavour) I would suggest having tried the rum on more than one occasion it is due to it being aged for less than 3 years. I’ve read one review which claims they use unaged rums from Jamaica and Barbados and also 3 year old Trinidad rum and 12 year old Jamaican rum. If they do the amount of 12 year old rum in the mix must be very minimal. Another site states the rum is aged for 90 days! So who knows?

In the glass the rum looks much like Bacardi or even a vodka. The nose isn’t particularly impressive. It’s mainly a nose of strong alcohol, there is a little hint of the Jamaican rum in the blend but little else. When sipped the rum doesn’t offer much beyond the realms of many other white rums. It’s pretty harsh. Initially it sips quite well and is reasonably smooth but it is has a very strong taste when swallowed and burns quite a lot in both the throat and on the taste buds. It tingles and stays with you for a long time. Flavour wise there doesn’t seem to be much going on beyond the strong boozy feel of the spirit. I get a little bit of the Jamaican funk in the mix but certainly nothing which is jumping out at me.

When mixed the rum doesn’t blow me away. It still tastes, even when with cola young, rough and slightly harsh. It lacks the upfront sweetness of Bacardi Superior and I really don’t think it offers anything noticeably better. I haven’t reviewed a great deal of white rums but I do have a couple coming along which, I feel are much better than this.

Watch this Space!

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