Review: Atlantico Gran Reserva Rum (86.5/100)
Review by Chip Dykstra
Posted on September 12, 2023

When I first encountered Atlantico Rum, the brand had just launched, and I was fortunate enough to be treated to an information session hosted by Brandon Lieb, of the Atlantico Importing Company.  I was also treated to a tasting where I was able to try their only rum in production at that point, Atlantico Private Cask as well as two rums which were still in development at that time, a premium white rum and an anejo rum.

Today line-up consists of 3 rums, the Altantico Platino, Altantico Reserva, and that previously mentioned Altantico Private Cask.  (I suspect the Reserva and the Platino respectively were early versions of those rums I tasted over a decade ago.)

It appears the brand ownership has changed  a little during the intervening years. Up until three years ago Atlantico was part of Ian Macleod Distillers‘ portfolio of spirits. It is unclear to me whether the brand has been acquired by another spirit’s company after Ian Macleod released its control, however the spirit is still sold at various internet retail sites and is often included in sample form in those Christmas Advent Calendars that are sold during the holiday season.

The subject of this review is the Atlantico Gran Reserva which appears to have either replaced the Private Cask in the line-up or is a rebranding of the same rum. I note that the Ian Macleod Website calls the rum Private Cask whereas their bottle image clearly shows the rum’s moniker as Gran Reserva.

According to most retail websites, the Gran Reserva is a blend of small batched rums aged up to 23 years. however, I note that no specific age claim is made regarding the rum in the label. When I originally reviewed the Private Cask about a decade ago, I learned that rum was produced by Oliver Rums (a Dominican blender for third party rums) who used a ‘Cuban style’ solero process to age and blend the spirit. In such a system the oldest rum in the blend can technically be very old, yet blends of this nature often have an averaged age which is substantially less. It is likely the current version of the  Gran Reserva has a similar lineage.

The only thing to do is to taste Atlantico Gran Reserva which was bottled at 40% abv. and see what the most current bottle available to me is like.

In The Bottle 5/5

The rum is presented in the clear long necked bottled shown to the left. It has a corked closure and the label is full of useful information including the use of both molasses and sugar cane juice in the rum’s distillation as well as the use of American Whiskey barrels in the maturation process. I also like the heavy base bottom which gives the bottle more stability on my rum shelf. The presentation also includes a snazzy blue box which unfortunately did not arrive with my sample bottle.

In the Glass  8.5/10

I poured a little of the Atlantico Gran Reserva into my tasting glass and immediately noticed indications of a sweet butterscotch, vanilla and honey drifting in the breezes above the glass. When I gave my glass a tilt and a twirl I noticed large leglets at the crest of a thick  film which fell as slow fat legs down the inside of the glass.

I allowed the glass to breath and began to notice fine oak and somewhat grassy tobacco spice, some lovely marzipan and a touch of maple forming as well. The rum appears rich and somewhat sweet. This is a typical characteristic of solero style rums blended by Oliver Rums.

In the Mouth  52/60

The premium rum is smooth and even sweeter than the nose implied with toffee, vanilla and maple leading out. If the aim of this rum is to appeal to a wide variety of palates, then it succeeds. However, I might also suggest that this emphasis on a smooth sweet profile means that some of the funky character of Caribbean rum has been sacrificed in the process.

Again I allowed the glass to breathe and was rewarded with both fine oak and baking spices. Some fruity orange peel and marmalade and almond turning to marzipan. When I added ice, some tobacco and milk chocolate also appears, and some of that sweetness is diminished.

In the Throat  12.5/15

Vanilla and maple have the last word in a sweet exit. The sweetness borders on being cloying. There is some nice oak spice present in the long finish however the rum is behaving almost like a liqueur rather than an aged rum.

The Aftermath  8.5/10

Atlantico Gran Reserva Rum is definitely a journey on the sweeter side of the rum path. In fact, I would call it a dessert rum rather than a sipping rum. For the experienced rum connoisseur, the rum is perhaps a little one dimensional as  the sweetness tends to dominate the oak; but I suspect this is intentional as a sweeter flavour profile is bound to appeal to a wide audience.

If you are interested in comparing more scores, here is a link to my other published Rum Reviews.

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My Final Score is out of 100 and you may (loosely) interpret the score as follows:

0-25     A spirit with a rating this low would actually kill you.
26-49   Depending upon your fortitude you might actually survive this.
50 -59  You are safe to drink this…but you shouldn’t.
60-69   Substandard swill which you may offer to people you do not want to see again.
70-74    Now we have a fair mixing rum or whisky.  Accept this but make sure it is mixed into a cocktail.
75-79    You may begin to serve this to friends, again probably still cocktail territory.
80-84    We begin to enjoy this spirit neat or on the rocks. (I will still primarily mix cocktails)
85-89    Excellent for sipping or for mixing!
90-94    Definitely a primary sipping spirit, in fact you may want to hoard this for yourself.
95-97.5 The Cream of the Crop
98+       I haven’t met this bottle yet…but I want to.

Very loosely we may put my scores into terms that you may be familiar with on a Gold, Silver, and  Bronze medal  scale as follows:

70 – 79.5    Bronze Medal (Recommended only as a mixer)
80 – 89.5     Silver Medal (Recommended for sipping and or a high quality mixer)
90 – 95         Gold Medal (Highly recommended for sipping and for sublime cocktails.)
95.5+            Platinum Award (Highest Recommendation)