Review: Ginebra San Miguel Anejo Dark Rum 84/100
Chip Dykstra (Aka Arctic Wolf)
Refreshed March 2020

Tondena Distillers Limited were recently purchased by Ginebra San Miguel,a diversified beverage company majority-owned by San Miguel Corporation (SMC) located in the Philippines. In addition to rum, the company also makes, gin, vodka and light brandy as well as a variety of flavoured spirits.

Ginebra San Miguel Anejo Dark Rum does not appear on the producer’s website and I was unable to find much information regarding the brand. I suspect the rum was originally bottled as Tondena Distiller’s Anejo Dark Rum (the label is similar). The spirit appears to be in the midst of a re-branding and is now sold mainly in Taiwan.

The Ginebra Anejo Dark Rum sample I received was part of the 24 Days of Rum – The Original Rum Tasting Box from 1423 World Class Spirits. It is presented as a 5 Year Old Dark Rum, bottled at 40 % alcohol by volume.

In the Bottle 3.5/5

To the left is a bottle shot for the Ginebra Anejo Dark Rum. The metallic screw cap implies bottom shelf rather than top shelf and the label seem rather uninspiring as well. It is hard to tell from the bottle shot, but it appears that the rum does not carry a valid age statement.

In The Glass 8.5/10

The spirit has a nice copper hue and when I tilt my glsaa and give it a light twirl I see a thickened liquid sheen on the inside of my glencairn the crest of which drop thick leglets which fall back to the rum at a moderate pace.

The breezes above the glass bring a surprising surge of oak with sweet butterscotch almond and vanilla which indicates that the age of the rum may indeed match the 5 Years declaration on the label. Oak spice, a touch of treacle and a welling of baking spices (vanilla, cinnamon and clove) rise into the air with roasted marshmallow, orange peel, marzipan and tobacco. The nose has me intrigued as the quality appears to be much better than the uninspiring label would have led me to believe.

In the Mouth 51/60

The rum is smooth(ish) with a nice oaken spiciness and with very little if any alcohol push or burn. I taste a mingling of caramel, oak spice, almond and vanilla with just a touch of treacle. The rum seems relatively simple and straightforward, yet it offers no disappointment.  As I sip I note that the rum doesn’t change much from sip to sip. It is though well balanced and somewhat complex.

When I add ice the rum looses a bit of ts light sweetness turning slightly bitter which actually works well as the light bitterness seems to add rather than detract from the overall flavour profile. With only a small sample to work with my cocktail deliberations cannot be extensive. I would suggest a nice rum and cola or a Brooklynite Cocktail would be good choices.

In The Throat: 12.5/15

The spirit is medium to full bodied and has a semi sweet carame featuring hints of treacle and chocolate. Oak spice, vanilla and more chocolate settle in after the swallow.

The Afterburn  8.5/10

Ginebra Anejo Dark Rum is a nice dark rum which seems to have held the added caramel in check allowing the aged rum to shine though. This should taste swell with cola or in a Brooklynite cocktail. The only thing holding the rum back is the uninspiring bottle it is sold in.

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

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Suggested Serving:

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