Now I know most everyone has become familiar with 10 Cane, its computer designed bottle, top shelf location, purposely slanted orange label and slick marketing ("...historically cane is harvested in bundles of 10".) Uh-huh. I don't like rhum by regulation (AOC) and I certainly reject rhum by advertising agencies. But I digress. Is 10 Cane an agricole of distinction? The envelope please...
Sue Sea:
Me:We were tasting Oronoco when our dear friend Chef Mike presented us with a snifter of 10 Cane, so we had a chance to compare and contrast.
Cane's aroma is light - reedy, grassy - like straw. Upon reflection I picked up a bit of rice mat like St. James Ambre. There was a noticeable alcohol aroma. Its body was light and the 10 Cane remains consistent, tasting of alcohol and reflecting the aroma, with perhaps a faint touch of anise. The finish was peppery, with a lingering warmth that I liked. Like St. James Rhum Ambre, I think that 10 Cane would accompany asian food.
We'd just returned to the world famous Bahia Mar Hotel in Fort Lauderdale where we'd been treated by Chef Mike to a couple snifters of hard to find Oronoco (see review). Upon our return it was our goal to re-review the Oronoco (in a vain attempt to confirm or deny reviews finding vanilla as a primary note). Denied. Any sense of vanilla, if at all, is ultralight and fleeting.
Whilst performing our duties, Chef treated us to his personal favorite, the 10 Cane of this review. This was especially providential as (a) I had no intention of buying such a marketed product and (b) I wasn't paying, lol. Thanks, Chef!
Sue Sea is right on; however (as with Oronoco) I detected a high, light "sweety reedy" aroma. Color is a very light straw. The taste remains entirely consistent - clean, alcohol, lightly sweety reedy. 10 Cane ends with a nice warm and peppery finish.
Still, in sum the 10 Cane by Moet Hennessy is nothing special, has little complexity and hardly justifies its $35 price. And you need to like alcohol.
Rating (10 is best): Sue Sea - 6, Me - 5.
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Special Note: I've heard (that's hearsay folks) that 10 Cane's sales have been disappointing, so Moet Hennessy has reformulated it (keep in mind when reading older reviews - ours was written 3/22/2008.)
Even Later Note: Recently spotted this rum being sold at $19.95 at a number of local stores. Either this was a rare special, or "10 Cane" is about to suffer the same fate as "Tommy Bahama" - the bargain bins.