Overview
Brand: Doorly's
Origin: Foursquare, St. Philip, Barbados
Still: Pot & Column Blend
Age: 8 years
Finish: ex-Bourbon
ABV: 40%
The Doorly's macaw once again graces our presence for review #093, with this particular visitor being a beautiful Scarlet Macaw. As with other Doorly's releases, this was produced at Foursquare rum distillery in St. Philip, Barbados.
Doorly's 8 year is composed of rums produced in their copper pot and continuous column stills; these distillates were blended pre-cask– as master blender Richard Seale often does– before maturing in ex-Bourbon barrels for a minimum of 8 years.
Appearance
Marigold, medium clarity, medium viscosity
Nose
Vanilla, Playdough, caramel, saltwater taffy, fresh croissant
Palate
Caramel, vanilla, saltwater taffy, orange peel, molasses
Finish
Medium-length, tannic, slightly thin; oak, vanilla, orange zest
Rating: 6/10
Summary
Doorly's 8 year is a nice expression of classicly Bajan rum, and you won't get much more than that from this release. It's pleasant as an 80 proof sipper, while being affordable enough to toss into a cocktail calling for a blended rum.
This rum is a marigold color, with medium clarity and viscosity.
Strong notes of vanilla and Playdough lead the nose, followed up by light caramel and confectionary saltwater taffy. A final, savory note of fresh croissants wraps up this fairly simple nosing experience.
Doorly's 8 leads with caramel, vanilla, and saltwater taffy on its palate, bringing some of the same notes that we had on the nose to the tasting experience. Molasses is present, but has to be searched for, perhaps due to the lower proof of the rum. A citrusy orange peel comes in at the end of this no-frills tasting.
The medium-length finish is tannic and thin, with notes of oak, vanilla, and orange zest presiding over the fade-out.
This isn't a knock-your-socks-off rum, but it isn't supposed to be. Doorly's 8 can fit the role of a sipper after a long day of work, or for introducing the Bajan palate to those new to rum. But I think the 8 year's strength is offering a bit of maturity to cocktails like the Barbados Rum Punch or Corn 'n' Oil, and doing so without additives at a modest price.