Bacardi Spiced

Bacardi Spiced is a flavoured, sweetened molasses spirit drink rather than a traditional rum, distilled on a column still and bottled at a low 35 percent. It is engineered for the mixing glass, an easy, mass-market bottle aimed at long drinks and punches rather than at neat exploration, and it sits at the lighter, sweeter end of the spiced field.

The profile is sweet and simple: vanilla and caramel with brown sugar, honey, creme brulee and a clear cinnamon spice, soft and candied from start to finish. With added sugar in the recipe it reads more like a flavoured liqueur than a dry rum, and that is no secret. Its natural place is mixed with cola or built into a punch, where the sweet vanilla-and-spice character does its job; taken neat it shows the ethanol edge and simplicity that mark it as a mixer first.