Plantation XO 20th Anniversary was created to mark twenty years of Maison Ferrand, the French house that owns the Plantation rum range. It is a Barbados rum with a Cognac finish, and that second stage of ageing is where much of its character comes from.
The base is a blend of pot and column still rum from Barbados, first aged in American whiskey casks on the island. The rum is then shipped to Cognac, France, and finished in French oak casks that previously held cognac. The blending is overseen by the cellar master at Château de Bonbonnet. The brand calls the process double ageing, and says it gives the rum a round, creamy palate.
In the glass the colour is a deep antique mahogany. The nose brings toasted coconut, sugar cane, chocolate and cigar box, and the palate is creamy and mellow with coconut, nuts, tobacco, cedar and a little lime. The finish is long and dry. Pour it into a low balloon glass at a cool cellar temperature, around 16 to 18 degrees, and let the warmth of your hand open it up slightly before you taste.