Liquor Review: Flor De Caña Black Label

    The BoozeBasher staff has a schoolyard crush on Flor De Caña’s rum.  We loved the Gold for mixing, the Grand Reserve for sipping, and even the Extra Dry holds its own amongst a group of people who don’t believe in drinking a rum unless it has some color to it.  Really we are just one happy family of rum drinkers and tasty rums.  Unfortunately, there is always that one that does not fit in with the rest of the family.

    Maybe it’s the cousin that shows up to the family reunion on a chopper wearing ass-less chaps.  Maybe it’s the sister that goes into the adult film industry and wants to show grandma what she does for a living.  In Flor de Caña Black Label’s case, it just didn’t measure up to the standards we have come to expect from Flor de Caña.  Having sampled and enjoyed the rums on either side age-wise, we expected something that mixes well in a cocktail and could be consumed on the rocks without making gargoyle faces.  Sadly, this rum suffers from the middle child syndrome and the Black Label just did not cut it in either case. 

    Flor de Caña Black Label is the middle child of the slow-aged family, spending 5 years in a barrel used only once prior.  This aging time is spent in their original barrel houses which were constructed without air-conditioning, electrical ventilation, or humidifiers.  This provides a natural environment for this line of rums to rest in comfortably.  Compañia Licorera, the parent company of Flor de Caña, has even trademarked this process and believes that it produces the finest family of rums on the market. 

    The aroma of Flor de Caña Black Label is not especially entrancing, as it is dominated by a strong alcohol odor, but it does have hints of sweet molasses and oddly a hint of cotton candy scent.  The flavor on the rocks is not really unpleasant, just disappointing.  It provides the same sort of feeling you get when your son drops a promising law career for one with a group of traveling folk singers.  Yeah, you will lie to your neighbors about his new profession, but you will feel bad about doing so.  It has nice oak flavors with a little bit of pepper, but the aftertaste is a little dry and metallic.  There are no caramel, molasses, or fruit flavors to entice me into another sip.  In fact, the taste is a bit delicate, and when we tried mixing it with cola, it was pretty much obliterated.  Ginger ale is a better mixer, but the Flor de Caña Black Label does not add much to the drink. 

    Well, it doesn’t add much other than an 80-proof dose of liquid courage.  Though even in this category, it was not as effective at the other Flor de Caña products we have enjoyed.  It will still get you nice an tipsy.  Unfortunately, the next day I had a persistent unsettled stomach that lasted for the majority of the day.  Again, this was just one more area that the Black Label did not stack up to its siblings.

    A bottle of Flor de Caña Black Label will cost you about $21, but honestly, I suggest you spend a little less and get the Gold or a little more and get the Grand Reserve.  The Black Label is not a bad rum; it just lacks the extra bite to mix well and yet does not have the smooth bold flavors to be consumed on the rocks.  We are not going to kick it out of our happy little family, but it is going to be relegated to the kids table at supper time.

Sipability - 6.0

Mixability - 6.5

Drunkability - 7.0

Hangover-ability - 5.5

Bang for the Buck - 7.5

Overall -  6.5 

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