BOOZE REVIEWS

you forgot to give your booze a review. What’s the score?

Did you read the review? It wasn’t finished yet, that’s why there was no score.

10 Cane is great but too expensive. It has a clean but sweet taste. Very smooth with a hint of vanilla. It gave me a great buzz, and no next day bad effects.

Hmm, I don’t think I’d describe 10 cane’s flavor as sweet or smooth. Like I said, I can’t recommend this as a rum.

bourbon does NOT need to be made in kentucky

Mary, you are correct, Bourbon only needs to be made in the US. Interestingly enough, all but a few brands of Bourbon are made in Kentucky.

You hit the nail on the head with your review. I’ve tried several of the top rums, including Zaya GR, Black Seal, Mt. Gay, Ron Zacapa Centenario, Sea Wynd, Appleton’s and my favorite sipping rum, Ron Anejo Pampero Anniversario. None of these are anything like 10 Cane.

My wife is from Brasil, and when I visited there, her father and brothers turned me onto Cachaça, from the cheapest to the most expensive. All of them had a very similar underlying flavor and aroma (raw sugar cane juice) which I liked. It’s cleaner, lighter, refreshing, and very distinctively Cachaça. That’s why I laugh when I read elsewhere that the rum is the brainchild of Hennessy master distiller Jean Pineau. Based on composition, method, taste and color, all Hennessy’s master created was in fact what Brazilians have been enjoying for 100 years, Cachaça, the main ingredient of a Caipirinha.

I kind of get the feeling Pineau got drunk on Ipanema beach in Rio drinking Caipirinha and suddenly had this magnificent brain fart.

Here’s how another website describes Pineau’s epiphany: “The rum is the brainchild of Hennessy master distiller Jean Pineau, who was charged by the company five years ago with its creation. The challenge, he says, was quite satisfying: “I control the quality of Cognacs, but I don’t create Cognac. This rum I created.”

From the start, Pineau’s philosophy was to apply the Cognac makers’ standards of high quality in the choice of raw materials to the making of rum. That led to the use of sugarcane as opposed to molasses and also to the decision to use only the first pressing of the cane, which yields 25 percent less juice, but delivers a higher quality product, according to Pineau.

He describes a revelation he had regarding rum making on one of his expeditionary trips to the Caribbean: “I sucked on a cut cane in a field and decided that taste of raw sugar juice was what I ultimately wanted to bring to the spirit.” To that end, the choice of the best cane is key to the rum as well as using it when it is as fresh as possible.

The makers of Brazil’s popular cachaça Pirassununga 51 must be in stitches over the success of 10 Cane. “Leave it to Americans to pay 10X what they need to for something you can get in Brazil for pennies.” That said, I have a litre bottle of 10 Cane on my shelf from Costco today and am enjoying that delicious Cachaça flavor and aroma I love so much. By the way, my bottle of Pampero is empty, so I’ve got to head over to BevMo soon!

I believe 10 Cane counts as a “rhum agricole”, which in truth, is very close to cachaça but still counts as a rum.

Jake, as I said, the rules for what can be called rum or not are extremely lax. That’s why this can still be called rum, indeed many Cachaca’s are sold labeled as rum. However in terms of flavor, 10 Cane is much more cachaca than it is rum. Try some rums and some cachacas and then try 10 Cane. I think you’ll agree.

I recently purchased 10 Cane Rum on a whim and we made the most delicious discovery. We simply marinated cut fresh pineapple in a bowl of 10 Cane. An hour later the pineapple was amazing, and you could drink the remaining rum straight. It contained no bitterness, but it did contain the flavor of what I would expect from rum. This is now my favorite rum – or what ever you want to call it!

Interesting, I’ll have to give that a try. Thanks, Mark!

My dear fellows. There are lots of miss-concepts about Rum and Cachaca in these reviews and view points. I am Brazilian and also an expert in Rum. I can assure you that 10CANE is a real Rum and has nothing to do with Cachaca.
The greatest difference between 10CANE and other rums is not only the fresh cane juice. Its real secret is its fermentation process, on closed vats, at constant low temperature. It takes 5 DAYS! to ferment 10CANE, this is unique and one of the most costly production process in the rum industry. Just to clarify for those that thought about French Rhum Agricole: 10CANE is not. In fact, the French agricole rum must be fermented in open VATs resulting on a poor liquid that generally is distill in columns. Very long ago Caribbean Pot Stills were used but not nowadays. 10CANE is double distill in French Charantais Potstill, same used for Cognac. Distillation Heads and Tails are eliminated during the small batches increasing its quality. You can’t do better.
What is amazing in 10CANE is its freshness and its natural vanilla taste. Its clear and neat, the best rum ever made for a classic daiquiri.
It is true that rum is not as regulated as other spirits. A good reason to know each brand in great detail.
At the end of the day, what count is the taste and the quality. For me, 10CANE is well above the majority of rums and can’t be compared with a brazilian cachaca.

Sergio, you’re entitled to your opinion but 10 Cane sure tastes like a Cachaça to me. Much more than it tastes like a Rum. I think ingredients matter more than process and 10 Cane is made from the same ingredients as Cachaça. Method of fermentation and distillation certainly have an effect on flavor but certainly less so than what exactly is being fermented and distilled.

Fermenting and distilling Concord grapes in the methods used for Cognac doesn’t mean you’ll end up with a Cognac, you have to start with Cognac grapes.

I discovered 10 Cane after they started carrying it in WA state liquor stores. We were making mojitos, and I thought it was excellent! I also used a simple syrup made from cane juice instead of refined sugar (almost the same color as 10 Cane) and that made it really delicious. I also just drank some of the 10 Cane and thought it was a really good rum, but questioned calling something made from cane juice and not molasses as rum. Then a friend of mine got a bottle of Cachaça and I learned about it and realized that 10 Cane is Cachaça. The bottle my friend got was priced similar to 10 Cane, a bit on the pricey side. I wish I could get 10 Cane more often but would rather spend the money on various aged whiskeys and Bombay Sapphire and get a cheaper light rum for my mojitos.

i have read all of your reviews so far and everyone of you missed a major point!! !0 cane is a LIGHT RUM,used mostly for mixing tropical drinks, where as the rums your comparing it too are darker rums used more for mere sipping. its like comaparing budweiser to guiness in the beer world. you simply can not compare the 2. if you want to compare light rums put 10 cane up against any of your cheap hole in the
wall liqour store or dive bar over hyped light rums such, dare i say it, bicardi, and see which tastes better. so i will finish by saying 10 cane is one of the finest, if not thee finest light rums i have ever tasted and is deffinitly a deservingly top shelf brand light rum. i bought it on a whim also, and im glad i did. thanks

I purchased 10 Cane Rum seeking a taste similar to Old Oak White Rum. My initial impression is good but the cost of 10 Cane is many times greater than Old Oak. Is Old Oak obtainable anywhere in the U.S.?

It looks like it is but not everywhere:
http://www.angostura.com/06_buy.htm#68
You may want to email either of those people and inquire about availability in your area.
I’ve heard good things about Angostura Rums and hope to get some soon.

Just purchased 10 Cane, as so many others, on a whim. I am sipping it neat and do appreciate the clean, sugar cane flavor. I’m not a rum aficionado, but have been tasting as much as possible lately and I agree with you, Matt, it is certainly more of a Cachaca than a rum. Whatever, I really enjoy it and will now explore the Cachaca avenue a bit more. Thanks for the review!

I hadn’t heard of this “rum” until last night. I was at Uncle Julio’s Rio Grande and ordered a “10 Cane Rum Mojito” after asking the waitress what it was: “rum made with sugar cane.” (What a vague response.) I’ll be honest with you, I was extremely surprised as it was the best mojito I’ve ever had (keep in mind I’ve never been to the Carribean). Maybe the sweet flavor lends itself well to a Carribean mix. I can’t see this going well with Coke though :-)

You guys need to try Oronoco…that’s a rum. I like 10 Cane on the golf course…no bite like other rums i’ve tried.

I’m a Trinidadian ex-pat living in Charlotte and had never heard of this rum until recently. I recommend that you try Angostura 1919 next to get a better sample of what Trinidad rum is about because this isn’t it.

Vic, I have heard nothing but good things about Angostura’s Rum. I hope to get my hands on a bottle one day soon.

Look no further than right here: https://www.crownwineandspirits.com/p-102-angostura-1919-rum.aspx?vid=169

You might want to get a few friends to order with you to spread out the shipping charge.