How to Taste Rum
Visitors to our Tasting Room love to take advantage of our free tastings, especially when they learn that Montanya is locally made (as in right upstairs) from only four, all-American ingredients. Each of our rums looks and tastes different—whether you’re a rum connoisseur or simply like Montanya cocktails, it’s fun to pick out the different flavors.
A rum tasting at Montanya Distillers
You don’t have to be in Crested Butte to get in on the fun. Hosting your own tasting is one of the best ways to find rums you like—and it's easy to do virtually or socially distanced depending on what the times call for. Here are a few tips on how to taste rum:
Pour Mindfully
In the Tasting Room, we keep each taste to a quarter ounce. That might not sound like a lot, but it's enough to get a good sense of the rum and it helps customers moderate alcohol consumption. The goal of a tasting is to experience new flavor profiles, which is best done with a clear head.
Enjoy at Room Temperature
Only high quality spirits remain delicious at room temperature. If you're offered a spirit that is highly chilled, this is usually an attempt to cover up impurities and flavor characteristics that are not favorable. Tasting at room temperature will allow for an accurate impression.
Serve in Glass
We're on a mission to eliminate single-use plastic from Montanya and our lives, and glass gives the tasting experience a more elevated feel. It also makes it easier to truly taste the rum—even 80-proof spirits act as a solvent on plastic.
Have Water on Hand
This may sound obvious, but it's often overlooked. Water cleanses the palate between rums and helps you stay hydrated. This is something we especially pay attention to at altitude, where people feel the effects of alcohol faster.
Sip by Age
Generally speaking, older rums have a more complex flavor profile as a result of aging longer in oak barrels. Starting with the youngest rum and progressing toward the oldest will make it easier to taste the subtle differences between them.
Montanya Platino and Oro each age for over a year—generally 18 months. Exclusiva ages for three years and Valentia for four. When we give tastings in the Tasting Room, we serve them in that order.
Montanya Rums in order of age: Platino (one year and often more), Oro (one year and often more), Exclusiva (three years) and Valentia (four years).
Remember, It’s the Second Sip that Counts
Rums are generally 80 proof and sometimes higher proof. As a result, the first sip lets the taste buds acclimate, and the second allows for true tasting of all the flavors.
Hosting a Tasting? Check this Out:
Our original guide to tasting rum answers all your rum questions and includes at Tasting Notes Template:
A Free eBook:
Learn why you may have rum all wrong (hint: color doesn’t tell you much about what you’ll taste) and how to find the rums you love by hosting your own tasting. Includes a printable Tasting Notes Template!