Overview
Brand: Ten to One
Origin: Trinidad Distillers Ltd, Laventille, Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago; West Indies Rum Distillery, Barbados; Worthy Park, Lluidas Vale, Saint Catherine Parish, Jamaica; Alcoholes Finos Dominicanos, Consuelo, San Pedro de Macorís, Dominican Republic
Still: Pot & Column Blend
Age: NAS
Finish: ex-Bourbon
ABV: 43%
Today we revisit Ten to One, after previously reviewing their "white" rum blend. Since then, they have released a series of single casks and their Five Origin Select bottling that includes a long-aged Port Mourant component.
Ten to One Caribbean Dark Rum is a multi-origin blend, with at least some aging involved. Like their Caribbean White rum, I'm making some educated guesses as far as the original producers of the constituent rums go, since Ten to One does not disclose the individual distilleries.
The Trinidad component should come from Trinidad Distillers, Ltd., given that TDL is the only producer on that island, and Alcoholes Finos Dominicanos (AFD) is one of the larger producers in the Dominican Republic that frequently is found on the international broker market.
he product page for this blend also notes that both the Dominican and Barbados rums use a column still, and I'm leaning towards West Indies Rum Distillery (WIRD), best known for their role in Planteray rum, for the Barbados puzzle piece. It's unlikely that this comes from Mount Gay (they rarely appear in independent bottlings or blends) and Foursquare rum is almost exclusively pot & column rums blended before aging.
Lastly, Worthy Park is most likely the source of the "high-ester Jamaican pot still" rum, for similar reasons as AFD, in that they put out a lot of bulk rum for exactly these types of products.
As far as aging goes, only the Dominican and Barbados components are noted to have been aged for 8 years, meaning the Trinidad and Jamaican rums may or may not have been aged. This blend is released at a strength of 43% ABV.
Appearance
Orange-gold, medium viscosity
Nose
Banana peel, vanilla, orange peel, white wine vinegar, hint of pineapple, salted sunflower seeds
Palate
Banana split, vanilla, light pineapple, toasted coconut
Finish
Short, light, balanced; vanilla, pineapple pudding
Rating: 5/10
Summary
Ten to One's aged expression is just fine; predictably, it doesn't lean into one origin or another, leading to a balanced experience. There's a value and art to this, but to me, this just averages out to a solid, unchallenging rum.
The nose is heavily influenced by the Jamaican rum component with the banana, pineapple, and orange notes, but salted sunflower seed comes through, which I didn't expect. Flavors on the palate trend towards the lighter-bodied pieces, focusing perhaps on the Domincan, Trinidad, and Barbados column still constituents. This really does taste like a banana split, which leads into the finish that features vanilla and fruity pineapple pudding.
Ten to One's multi-origin blends may not push the envelope, but they play their role quite well. I'd give this a shot if you are looking for a more premium, additive-free multi-origin rum blend for your next cocktail.