Review: Coloma 8 Anos Rum 85.5/100
a review by Chip Dykstra (Aka Arctic Wolf)
Posted on December 12, 2019

Ron Coloma Rums are produced at the Hacienda Coloma which is a coffee estate located south of Bogota in the heart of Colombia 1700 meters above see level. The Hacienda Coloma does not appear to have a rum distillery attached to its facility so it is likely that the rum produced at the coffee estate was produced elsewhere (there are a couple of likely candidates within Colombia). According to the Ron Coloma website this is a molasses based, age stated rum, which was matured continuously in American oak barrels. (Non Solera Aging).

What makes the rum unique is that after the initial aging the spirit is then finished in barrels previously used for aging Coloma coffee liqueur, and if I am reading the website correctly it is brought to bottling strength using water from the Andean Mountains, then filtered in old coffee filters (from the Hacienda Coloma coffee estate) before being bottled apparently at 40% alcohol by volume.

In the Bottle 4/5

Coloma 8 Anos rum is sold in the bottle shown to the left. I like the bottle and the bright blue label, but there is a problem. I looked pretty hard, but I could find no information on the bottle telling me how much rum is inside and what the bottling proof was. When I checked some online retailers, they appeared to be using a similar bottle shot, and again this information was absent from their bottle shots as well.

Most of the online retailers listed the rum as being bottled at 40 % abv. in 700ml bottles. I suspect we can trust that information, but I would like to see this information clearly posted on the bottle’s label.

In The Glass 8.5/10

Colour:  Almost copper

Legs: Medium sized droplets form and fall leaving mid-sized legs

Initial Nose: Oak spice and orange peel with butterscotch, hints of almond and tobacco

Decanted Aroma: Oak spice, vanilla and butterscotch melded with almond and orange peel. Obvious notes of chocolate and a light imprint of tobacco. Coffee notes are subtle and do not disturb the well structured rum.

In the Mouth 51.5/60

Alcohol push and Spice: Smooth with oak spice gently heating the palate

Initial Taste: Mingling of chocolate, butterscotch and oak spice. A bit of coffee crisp chocolate bar.

Follow up: The oak spice pushed through more firmly on second sip. Vanilla and baking spice merge with caramel and chocolate. The coffee accent is more obvious but it does not detract from the overall flavour.

With Ice: The coffee flavour begins to jump out with the addition of ice

In The Throat: 13/15

Body and Length: Medium to full bodied with a chocolate and mocha finish

Flavours during Swallow: Coffee crisp chocolate bar with toffee spice

Lingering Flavours: Chocolate and toffee spice with just a hint of coffee

The Afterburn  8.5/10

Final Thoughts:  I was expecting to be hit over the head with coffee, but was pleasantly surprised by a well structured rum which was accented with a subtle coffee flavour. This one is easy to sip neat or over ice.

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

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You may (loosely) interpret the scores 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