Review: Ron Cristóbal Niña  92/100
a review by Chip Dykstra (Aka Arctic Wolf)
Posted on December 19, 2019

Ron Cristobal is the name of a rum brand owned by 1423 Worldclass Spirits, the creators of 24 Days of Rum – The Original Rum Tasting Box. Ron Cristobal currently produces two rums, Pinta, and Nina, and yes those names are references to two of the famous ships which Cristobal Colon used in his travels crossing the Atlantic to the new world. In the first of those travels, on December 5, 1492, Cristobal reached a large island which was called Haiti by the local inhabitants. Colon called it La Isla Española or Hispaniola.

Today Hispanola is known as Dominican Republic and Haiti. It is fitting that the Ron Cristobal rums which are produced and aged in the Dominican Republic should be named for Cristobal Colon who we inNorth America know as Christoper Columbus.

Ron Cristobal Nina is considered by the brand owner to be a super premium rum. It is made from 100% pure Dominican rum which was tropically aged in the Dominican and blended using only aged-stated rums of 8 years and 12 years. Nina is bottled at 40 % alcohol by volume.

In the Bottle 5/5

Ron Cristobal Nina arrives in the tall elegant bottle shown to the left. It is sealed with a natural cork topper. If you look at thebottomof thebottle you can see it has a heavy glass base which helps to keep the slender bottle stable on the bar shelf.

The label is really nice. For myself, it held intrigue when I first spotted it. “Who is Ron Crisobal” was my first thought. Then of course, I remembered, and I found myself pleased that the brand owner had decided to pay homage to that person which I always think of as Christopher Columbus, using the Spanish version of his name. After all this is a Spanish style Rum. (I will leave it to you to discover his original Latin name.)

The only hiccup I see here is the age statement. I would like to see it more clearly defined, or a statement on the label which clearly says that all the rum within has been blended from rums which are 8 to 12 years old. The manner in which the age statement is presented may lead some to believe that this some sort of solera statement instead. (A very minor hiccup which I decided should not affect the score of this great rum presentation).

In The Glass 9/10

Colour:  Rich Bronze

Legs: Thick leglets which fall slowly

Initial Nose: Complex with a mingling of spicy oak, butterscotch, almond and orange peel

Decanted Aroma: Rich oak spice, toffee, marmalade, marzipan, apricots, as well as firm baking spices (vanilla, cinnamon and clove)

In the Mouth 55/60

Alcohol push and Spice: Sweet and Spicy with a nice swat of fine oak spice and orange peel

Initial Taste: A very nice mingling of caramel, oak spice, vanilla, orange peel and almond

Follow up: All of the flavours mingle very nicely together. I taste rich oak spice, toffee, marmalade, marzipan, apricots, as well as firm baking spices (vanilla, cinnamon and clove)

With Ice: Ice settles the sweetness down making this absolutely delicious

In The Throat: 14/15

Body and Length: Full bodied with a mid-length spicy sweet smooth finish.

Flavours during Swallow: Chocolate and hints of cola with lush baking spice

Lingering Flavours: Sweet Cocoa and yummy baking spices

The Afterburn  9/10

Final Thoughts: Extremely well put together rum with a great balance between the spicy oak and the lingering sweetness. I preferred the dram over ice but would never disagree with those who prefer it neat.

Just guessing here, but I detect the blending expertise of Oliver and Oliver.

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