Very recently Sue Sea and I had the opportunity to finally taste and review the surprising new Zaya Gran Reserva (Trinidad) which led to a notable split decision. Overall, however the Zaya was well worth its purchase. 1 Barrel is a horse of another flavor, lol...
If there was ever a rum that deserves to be labeled "flavored", 1 Barrel is it. Sue Sea and I will not soon forget Richard Seale's Miami appearance and demonstration wherein he phonied up a young, continuous distilled rum with additives known only to him, and which accordingly fooled some very experienced tasters into thinking it was a well aged, pot stilled, molasses-based rum.
A masterful deception. 1 Barrel is quite the opposite as you shall see - but first, the reviews:
Sue Sea:
Me:1 Barrel comes in a plain Jane, screw top bottle. The label is amateurish, with faux gold leaf lettering, "1 Barrel", set against an elementary school art class barrel. The rum itself is a lighter gold - the overall impression is plain and fails to set an attractive tone.
Still, there are some who may prefer such an unpolished presentation.
1 Barrel presents with a strong maple aroma, with tones of butterscotch, honey and caramel. Like a truck stop pecan pie, or what we used to call (artificial) maple-flavored "bear claws". There is a background of reed that works to offset the maple a bit. Still, the maple is dominant and carried throughout the tasting. The body is smooth and coating, and the taste is entirely consistent. The palate opens with maple candy sweetness, with clove emerging mid-palate. The finish is longer than Zaya - I'd call it a medium finish, with both clove and white pepper, quite warming.
Overall, I found 1 Barrel to be of one primary, overpowering note - of artificial and overdone maple flavoring. I believe this is a flavored rum that should be so promoted, and should compete as such.
I can't really disagree with Sue Sea (and her talented waiter son - who has a keen palate as well). 1 Barrel's color is a clear but not lustrous light gold with scary, thick sugar legs. Its aroma is clear, strong and unmistakeable: a pungent, very deep maple-flavored syrup, with tones of almond and over a background of sour leather. The taste is sadly consistent with an overpowering maple flavor, leading to a very warming hot, peppery finish.
I must be honest about Traveller's 1 Barrel. It is the lowest rated rum we have ever reviewed. However, 1 Barrel is not without merit - I found it makes a lovely drizzled additive when cooking breakfast sausage and is cheaper than authentic maple syrup.
Traveller's 1 Barrel is an excellent example of the Twiggie syndrome. No doubt a young inexpensive rum, minimally aged (just one year), and doctored with tanks of artificial maple/almond-like flavoring, et al. Not surprising, really.
What is surprising is that there are actually rum drinkers (and "competitions"!) who like and promote this doctored rum in the non-flavored "aged rum" division! Shame on you.
Rating (10 is best): 4.