This week I’m back with another spirit from my favourite category: rum! This bottle is more of a common one here in the UK, and can be found on most supermarket shelves for a semi-reasonable price. Here we have Twin Fin, a rum created in the Caribbean and spiced in Cornwall! It’s pretty hard for me to dislike rum, so it should just be a case of how much I like it!
Bottled at 38% ABV, Twin Fin sets itself apart immediately with this beautiful bottle, really evoking the feeling of a beachside spirit to drink casually while gazing at the rolling waves. Unfortunately, there is one downside to this bottle’s design. Because the striking blue comes from a matte film wrapped around the whole bottle it’s easily damaged by even mild nicks, so easily in fact that the one I bought came with a few scratches already in it! It doesn’t matter though, as long as the spirit itself is good.
The aroma is certainly a powerful one, giving off the impression of a far stronger rum. Initial notes of strong vanilla and ginger with some more subtle honey and sweet orange undertones. The initial front of this rum is overly sweet and zesty, akin to a mix of lemon, orange and fruit gummies. The main body of the flavor is pretty simple; a heavy blend of citruses and a hint of syrup. The finish continues the fruity theme with summer berries and mild banana that doesn’t linger particularly long.
Diluted the subtle banana only present in the finish are far more present in the main body, along with the sweeter spices of the rum, but otherwise not much else.
This is a really sweet rum, almost too sweet in my opinion. The smell is surprisingly strong given the main flavour of the rum itself is quite mild. I don’t normally name names when reviewing a particular bottle, but this reminds me a lot of Old J’s Tiki Fire, which is an imperfect rum for sure but has the ace in the hole of being a 75.5% ABV overproof rum (a luxury Twin Fin unfortunately does not get). Honestly, to someone with a delicate palette this rum tastes like a muddled mess of different rums smashed together; not ideal.
Personally, I believe this is best drunk in flavoured cola for literally no other reason than it hides this rum’s imperfections well enough to find it enjoyable.
Overall, I hate to say it, but I really don’t like this rum. There is only 1 other brand of spiced rum I actually dislike, and I certainly wasn’t expecting to find another one! I’m pretty lenient with rums when it comes to flavour, but this was just straight up unenjoyable. My partner tried this rum and actually really enjoyed it, so perhaps I’m missing something? For me, the bottle itself is easily the best part of the package, and that too has its flaws. For the price this rum is at, you’re better off reaching for something else for now.
This post’s recommended song is: “Gone” – Thirteen Senses
