Diplomático
The Venezuelan rum often described as the best sipping rum in the world. Everything about the varieties, the percentages, how to drink them and the glass to use.
Rum from the foothills of the Venezuelan Andes
Diplomático is made in La Miel, at the foot of the Andes in western Venezuela. The distillery has an unusual combination of stills: column stills, pot stills and even a historic batch kettle from the 1950s. Blending distillates from these different stills creates the full, complex style the brand is known for.
The rum is made from both sugar cane molasses and sugar cane syrup, giving it extra body, and is aged in American oak, ex-bourbon casks, ex-whisky casks and sherry casks. The bottles mainly differ in the ratio of heavy and light rums: Planas is white and full-bodied at 47%, Mantuano is full and approachable, and Reserva Exclusiva is the classic sipping rum.
In brief
What types of Diplomático are there?
Reserva Exclusiva
The best-known bottle: 80% heavy and 20% light rums, aged for twelve years. Fruitcake, rum raisin, cocoa, ginger and cinnamon.
Mantuano
Lighter in style: 40% heavy and 60% light rums, aged for up to eight years in three types of casks. Dried fruit, wood and vanilla.
Planas
Aged for up to six years and then filtered through charcoal, making it clear. Tropical fruit, coconut and coffee, with a robust 47% ABV.
Family Selection
Aged for twelve years in American oak, ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks, made mostly from sugarcane honey. The bottle for the true rum lover.
Reserva Exclusiva is the classic; Planas is the bottle for mixing.
Dried fruit, toffee and cacao
Fruitcake & cacao
Rum raisin, fruitcake and cacao, with dried ginger, cinnamon and clove. Rich and inviting.
Full and rounded
Full and gently sweet, with toffee, vanilla, baked banana and chocolate sauce. Smooth enough to drink neat without becoming bland.
Long and warm
A long, warm finish with oak, spices and a hint of citrus. Planas, by contrast, is dry and fresh.
Flavor profile of Diplomático Reserva Exclusiva. Mantuano is slightly lighter and drier; Planas scores 2/5 for sweetness and 5/5 for intensity.
Three ways to drink Diplomático
Reserva Exclusiva is a sipping rum: drink it neat or with one ice cube. Planas, on the other hand, is made for mixing.
Neat at room temperature
4 cl Reserva Exclusiva in a cognac glass or tulip-shaped tasting glass. Warm the glass briefly in your hand and sip slowly: only then do the cacao, toffee and spices really come through.
Glass: cognac glass →On the rocks
5 cl over one large ice cube in a tumbler, with a piece of orange peel. The ice melts slowly and makes the rum fresher without taking away its body.
Glass: tumbler →As a Daiquiri with Planas
60 ml Diplomático Planas, 25 ml lime juice and 15 ml sugar syrup, shaken hard with ice and strained into a chilled coupe. The 47% ABV and tropical fruit make this an exceptional Daiquiri.
Go to the recipe →The best cocktails with Diplomático
Daiquiri
White rum, lime and sugar. With Planas, one of the best Daiquiris you can make at home.
Rum Old Fashioned
Rum, sugar, bitters and a large ice cube. The aged rum replaces the whisky here.
Mai Tai
Rum, lime, almond syrup and orange liqueur. With good rum, a serious cocktail.
Dark 'n Stormy
Dark rum with ginger beer and lime. The ginger cuts through the sweetness.The right glass for Diplomático
A cognac glass or tulip-shaped tasting glass for neat, a heavy tumbler for on the rocks and a coupe for the Daiquiri. These are the glasses we recommend ourselves.
Everything else you wanted to know about Diplomático
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