Don Q Naranja

                   Don Q Naranja

This April (2023), Destilería Serrallés Inc., producers of the Don Q rum line, released their fifth expression in the brand’s flavor portfolio.  Their flavored rum products are inspired by the tropical fruits of Puerto Rico and include Coco, Piña, Limón, and Pasión.  For Naranja, Don Q’s Maestro Ronera aged the rum in American white oak for 18 months and then blended it with natural orange essence and flavor to achieve the desired flavor profile at 21% ABV.

Appearance

The liter bottle has the Don Q logo front and center with cut orange fruit, while the back label provides information about the product and is sealed with a metal screw top cap.  The liquid is clear in the bottle and glass.  Swirling the liquid creates a band that thickens and releases a couple of waves of large legs down the side of the glass.

Nose

The aroma of the liquid delivers notes of fresh-cut oranges; I immediately pictured in my mind cutting into an orange with the spray of liquid and zest from the peel filling the air.

Palate

Sipping the liquid delivered the expected orange notes: a nice citrus twang, a nip of zest, and bitter orange peel.  The orange flavors linger for a long time on the palate before fading.

Review

Between competitions and evaluating flavored rums and liqueurs for reviews, I found that the orange flavor can be one of the hardest to nail down.  Too often, it is overly sweet, with loads of detectable additives that completely detract from what the company was attempting to achieve.  

In my opinion, the creators of Naranja did a good job of avoiding these traps and created a solid flavored rum product.  The sweetness is well balanced against the tartness, and while there is a small level of stickiness with this product, it is within reasonable parameters.  Meaning there is only a small amount of residue, as opposed to feeling like my mouth needs to be rinsed out to remove the crud some flavored products leave behind.  

Fairly priced, this product can easily fill in as a substitution for other orange liqueurs, and while it may lack the robustness of an orange curacao, it can function as a nuanced ingredient in the hands of a talented cocktail creator.  Look for this product to be sold in any store that carries the Don Q line.