The rum is a beautiful dark brown color, and smells amazing as soon as you pour a bit in the glass. It has a lot of the same aromas you’d expect from a whiskey — brown sugar, vanilla, and baking spices — but there’s also a sweetness to the spirit that is well beyond what you get from something like a bourbon. The sophisticated sweetness of red and dried fruits, raisins and dates, complement a spicy woodiness, with hints of cinnamon. Don Andres Brugal Montaner launched Brugal in 1888 to break away from the traditional styles of the time and to create a distinctly different Rum. Apparently there are two things that set Brugal apart from others. First, the method of distillation, which removes much of what other Rums leave in. The Spirit is thus cleaner, dryer and less sweet. Secondly, every drop of Brugal is cask-aged, using the same wood policy as the World’s best single malt Scotch Whiskies. As with other rums, this spirit starts as a fermented mixture of sugar, water, and yeast. That slurry is then distilled twice to create the new make rum.

1888 / Alexander Mijares Collection - Brugal Rum Brugal 1888 / Alexander Mijares Collection - Brugal Rum

According to Javelle Taft, bar manager at Death & Co.’s East Village outpost, it’s important to remember the origins of rum when considering the spirit today, something that certain brands are actively striving to do. “Rum was birthed out of colonialism and slave labor,” he says. “Since the turn of the century, Caribbean island style rum producers are working hard to reset the tragic history of where rum is today, in comparison to how it started.” is a truly extraordinary ultra premium golden rum, produced in the Dominican Republic and combining the rich flavours of bourbon and sherry casks through a double-ageing process. Andrés Brugal Montaner was born in Catalonia, Spain and moved to Cuba in the mid 1800s. While in Cuba, he learned the art of rum manufacturing and brought that experience to the Dominican Republic where he founded a rum distillery named Brugal & Co in 1888. The brand was successful and over the years has expanded to include a number of varieties of their rum. Probably just about everyone has had a "sour" in one form or another. If you've had a margarita, then you've had a sour. The business remained family owned until in 2008, when the Scottish Edrington Group acquired a majority stake in the operation. Product

A complex yet balanced spirit that stimulates the senses and evolves in the glass. Crowned as the best 'Column Still Rum' at the World Rum Awards in 2018, this is a very special rum.

Brugal 1888 Doblemente Anejado - Brugal Rum

That sweetness is the first thing you get when taking a sip as well, but it’s more of a complimentary note than it is an annoyance. It lays the ground work for what comes (specifically the vanilla and brown sugar up front), but there are also some delicious banana, mango, and orange flavors that combine with a bit of baking spices to make for a rich flavor profile. The spirit finishes cleanly with a hint of citrus zest lingering onwards. On Ice The rum stands up remarkably well to ice, resisting the urge to bring out the overpowering sweetness. Instead, what we get is an emphasis on the vanilla, a little more oak flavor, and only a touch of bitterness on the finish. The fruit is still there as well, if a little diluted. The aged rum adds some truly unique aspects to the drink, bringing in a depth and complexity that you don’t find with some of the lighter rums. And in addition to bringing this complexity, all of these aged flavors also contribute to the balance of the drink, and make for a result that’s better than the sum of its parts. Fizz (Dark and Stormy) With notes of vanilla, red fruits and toffee intertwined with cocoa and natural oak spice Brugal 1888 is a wonderfully inviting spirit that is smooth, full of flavour and perfectly balanced. Brugal 1888 Doblemente Añejado is a truly exceptional rum, produced in the Dominican Republic and combining the rich flavours of bourbon and sherry casks through a double-ageing process.

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Usually the addition of a bit of ice is where a rum falls apart for me. It either becomes too sweet, or the flavors get all crazy, or something else unfortunate happens. But thankfully that doesn’t seem to have happened here.