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Navigator Reserve 5 Year Rum Review
About Navigator Reserve 5 Year Rum
Navigator Reserve 5 Year Rum is produced by Navigator Wine Collection – a St. Helena, California based company best known for their wide range of wine products. Although not much information is offered about the spirits under the Navigator label, they do release some liquor products such as bourbon and rum.
This particular bottle of Reserve 5 Year Rum is produced in Panama. Although not much of the production process is disclosed, they do say the rum is aged for 5 years in American Oak bourbon barrels.
Bottle Specs
❖ ABV: 40%
❖ Distillery: undisclosed
❖ Aging: 5 years
❖ Price Point: low price
My Tasting notes
The aroma of this rum had clear notes of molasses, and a bit of ethanol. As I continued to sniff, the nose notes got more mellow over time.
I took a sip, and found it to be harsh in flavor, and unnecessarily bitter for what the product is. As I continued, I couldn’t really find anything I liked about it, or any discernible flavor notes. For a moment there, I thought I detected a whisper of citrus flavor, but in hindsight I’m pretty sure this was wishful thinking.
Cocktail
For my cocktail, I wanted to make a modern tiki cocktail that I found in my copy of Let’s Get Tropical by Georgi Radev: the Golden Sand. I’ve used this recipe a few times in the past, however I normally make a vegan version, as I don’t really enjoy having egg yolk in my cocktails. Hope you enjoy!
For garnish, the recipe includes optional garnishes of an orange twist and/or ground nutmeg. Instead of a twist, I decided to roll my orange peel into a different shape to try out a new look.
Vegan Golden Sand
❖1 ⅓ oz aged rum
❖ ⅓ oz absinthe
❖ ⅔ oz banana liqueur
❖ ⅔ oz lime juice
❖ 1 oz orange juice
❖2 tsp superfine sugar
- Add the ingredients to a shaker with ice, and shake until chilled.
- Strain the mixture into a rocks glass with ice.
- Garnish with an orange twist and/or ground nutmeg if desired.
My experience while drinking this cocktail was a bit mixed. At first, the mixers managed to cover the harshness of the rum well enough, but about halfway through, this shifted, and the bitterness began to muddy the flavors of the drink. The sugar seemed to be doing a lot of legwork to make it palatable, but even so I didn’t feel that the rum was doing much for the blend of flavors.
Bottom Line
RATING: 1/5
At the end of the day, I was pretty disappointed with this bottle of Navigator Reserve Rum. I feel that the quality is comparable to rums that are half the price of this one. It just didn’t have much going for it at all in terms of flavor or smoothness. The bottle looks elegant on the outside, but inside the liquid is just gross.
It’s clear that this rum is basically an afterthought, and a half-hearted attempt by a wine producer to branch out into spirits, without giving the endeavor proper care or attention. Consumers deserve better. I cannot recommend Navigator Rum at this time.
As always, drink responsibly.
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