The Trovador Inspirado rum brand was created in honor of the brand’s cultural ambassador, Raul Malo, the Grammy winning lead singer of the Mavericks. This rum is a blend of three rums that are aged for a minimum of three years. Two of the rums are distilled in the Dominican Republic, and a third “Cuban style” rum of unknown origin is the final part of the blend. Together they are transported to the United States to Nashville, Tennessee, where they are put in new American white oak barrels and finished for an unspecified amount of time. The final product is blended and bottled by Colton Weinstein and Kevin Trevathan at 43% ABV.
Trovador Inspirado Double Barrel Aged Rum
Appearance
The 750 ml bottle is sealed with a wooden-capped synthetic cork secured with a logoed paper sticker wrapped around the top. The multicolored labels provide a substantial amount of information about the rum and the inspiration behind its creation.
The liquid is a solid golden amber in the bottle that lightens to a straw color in the glass. Swirling the liquid created a thick band that spun off multiple rounds of legs before beading up and leaving a ring of residue around the glass.
Nose
The aroma of the rum leads with brown sugar toffee and ethyl alcohol notes that are followed by dried fruit and a pop of black pepper. Baking spice notes and toasted oak, with a nip of acetone, round out the nosing experience.
Palate
The first sip delivers a swirl of caramel and vanilla and alcohol that conditions the palate with its chewy density. Additional sips reveal notes of dried apricot, black pepper, orange zest, tannic oak acidity, nutmeg, a hint of char, saline, and oak. The oak and vanilla notes linger in a long peppery finish.
Review
It is always intriguing to see a rum blend that uses a combination of tropical and continental aging, as it can test the ability of the blenders. With this rum blend, I believe the combination of the new oak finish helped balance the flavor profile and added a boost to it. In the end, the blenders succeeded in creating an interesting multifunctional rum that is easy to sip as well as work with several rum cocktail recipes. There is too much going on in the flavor profile for a daiquiri; this rum is more suited to be used in a piña colada, hot buttered rum, jungle bird, or rum runner cocktail.
