Rating: 
Blackheart Premium Spiced Rum is the sort of rum that pirate enthusiasts will home in on like gangbusters. From its name to its logo featuring a tattered heart&crossed swords, and then of course to the fetching pirate cutey in her hat, stripey shirt and bucket boots, coily giving either a, “come hither” or “I’m about to stab you” look (it’s tough to tell sometimes), this is packaging that’s bound to turn a head or two. And the price isn’t bad either.
The rum itself is a nice basic amber – not too light so as to look wussy, and not so dark as to scare off the wusses. To the nose Blackheart carries the usual suspect amongst spiced rums – vanilla. But from there it continues on in a sweet direction, not so much spicey as full of toffee perhaps a hint of chocolate. There’s only a slight note of an alcohol burn – only truly apparent if you inhale too sharply (at which point it does indeed burn.)
For a rum that smells sweet and smooth, Blackheart is surprisingly bold on the tongue. The flavor is syrupy and sharp – vanilla, with nutmeg, cedar, and a hint of cherry. “Rummy” flavors, such as molasses and oak are less prominent, and the whole affair is trailed by a lingering warmth of the sort that builds until you feel the hair on your chest stand on end (assuming you have hair on your chest.) This last is no doubt thanks to Blackheart’s robust 93 proof – thus providing a bit more pep than many spiced rums (and many non-spiced rums, for that matter.)
Bleackheart is a very decent spiced rum, and seems a worthy contendor for its price point. Plus it has a hot pirate chick on the label, which is something (on the Bilgemunky.com star rating scale, hot pirate chicks always mean a 1/2 star bonus, in fact!)
They have a promotion right now- free! (okay, the price of a stamp) If you buy a bottle, there is a rebate slip for the full price back. Not sure when the promotion ends, though.
Great to read your review. Still doesn’t sound like this is going to be the spiced rum to make me change my mind on spiced rum.
Sounds like they are trying to go head-to-head with Sailor Jerry’s. What say you, Bilge, which is better, Blackheart, Kracken or Sailor Jerry’s?
I haven’t tasted Sailor Jerry’s in a good long while, so I wouldn’t try and compare it to Blackheart from memory. But to my mind, Kraken is definitely at the top of the hill right now, with Kilo Kai a close second. The only other spiced rum I’ve yet tasted that qualifies as a premium spiced would be The Lash, which is sort of in its own, uber-spiced niche.
Oi,
How many doubloons will said Blackheart rum set me back, eh?
In my parts, the bottle sells for $11. And most of them currently come with a $10 rebate coupon. So if you’re lucky, $1. Not too shabby 🙂
After reading this review I tried Blackheart and was really really disappointed. It’s way too sweet, lacks spice, and doesn’t compare with Captain or even Admiral Nelson. It’s almost the opposite of Sailor Jerry (which is much drier). If that’s what you’re looking for, you should probably steer clear of Blackheart.
I just picked a bottle. I gotta admit, the chick on the label had a bit to do with it. Was disappointed for the same reason as I was with Sailor Jerry’s….I don’t like cherry and you can taste it both of them. Spice was also lame. I wouldn’t make the folks at Heaven Hill walk the plank for making this but, I might make them swab the deck.
I would rather drink Blackheart rum than that nasty Kracken cr*p. Sailor Jerry is overly-spiced and over-rated.
Kilo Kai is passable, but for a fine taste of the islands, if you can obtain some Maui Gold Rum, do so and savor locally grown island rum!
Okay, I tried it because it was inexpensive and yeah, the Pirate Babe looked nice. Methinks it a bit too sweet for a real Pyrate like me. I won’t poor it out, but I’ll go back to Mount Gay Eclipse- a real sailors rum!
I have mentioned this before mates, has anyone heard of Brinleys Shipwreck Spiced Rum ?. I can’t seem to get my local Liquor store to get it . Has anyone tried it yet? However I have tasted their Coconut Rum and it is the best I’ve tasted to date. Yaaar…
At The Rum Project (linked) Sue Sea and I are not big fans of the spiced category, mostly because these represent highly altered, artificially flavored and cheaper, thin bulk rums.
In general if you’re interested in real vanilla and spices, these are hard to find. But not impossible. There are a number of notable fine rums – aged and using real spices that are worth your time:
Richard Seale’s Foursquare, the Lash and Old Monk XXX. As for Brinley’s – although the additives are debatable the quality aged rum used is not.
Bottom line: there’s much to admired about good aged rums that use real and authentic spicing and infusions. The rest taste like artificial vanilla.
Let’s get Shipwrecked!
I sampled blackheart rum at pirate daze in santa ana.. Hate to say it but in my opinion it tasted like a flavored moonshine.
I actually love Blackheart it gives me a great buzz and for a 93 proof rum its not very harsh. Its one of my favorite rums for the price.
THIS IS THE BEST PRICED RUM I AM SELLING IT FOR 7.99 EACH OR 2 FOR 14.99. THIS GOING LIKE HOTCAKES IT IT WAY BETTER THAN THOSE CHEAP RUMS ITS A DIRECT COMPARISON WITH CAPTION WITH HIGH OCTAIN I LOVE IT AND MY CUSTOMERS DO TOO. IN THE CURRENT PROMOTION 1.75L SALES FOR 19.99 AND IT HAS 15.00 REBATE SO BOTTOM LINE IS ONLY 5.00
JAY’S LIQOUR
2820 COLUMBUS ST
OTTAWA, IL 61350
815-433-6337
This is the beat spiced rum i have ever had! Plus it’s 93 proof!
Old New Orleans Cajun Spiced Rum is my spiced rum of choice now-a-days. I was a Captain Morgan fan for the longest, until I tried the ONO Spice rum.
This Blackheart Rum adds a hint of deepness to ordinary rum cocktails, bringing a little diversity to the taste. It works very well in tropical drinks, and those with a flair toward warmer tones. It does seem that the rum is lacking in spice depth on its own, but it has spicy characters that can be pulled out of it when balanced against warmer toned ingredients. I really like it, and drink it as my favorite spiced rum. Today I got two 1.75 liter bottles for $13.99 each–that is a great price for 93 proof spiced rum.
Maybe I got a bad bottle, but all I could taste was cherry. Even when I mixed it with cola, it tasted like someone had dropped a bottle of cherry cough syrup in the batch. Really unpleasant. At least it was cheap.
I completely agree with Jack. I was all
Excited to try this new rum, with a recommendation from my favorite employee at the local liquor store. Was very disappointed when I first tried it. To me, it does taste just like cherry cough syrup. I’m usually not picky about rum; I’ve liked almost every one I’ve tried, because usually they do taste like vanilla to me. This was completely different and totally threw off my rum & coke. Oh well…luckily I am getting $15 back with a rebate.
After reading this and other review threads, I’ll admit to being puzzled by the way some people have said that this rum has a nice “hint” of cherry whilst others gag and make faces over an excessively strong cherry flavor that forcibly reminds one of cherry-flavored cough syrup. Is it possible that Blackheart has uneven quality control? Perhaps another explanation is that different people have had markedly differing reactions to what one might assume is an artificial cherry flavoring.
Yet another explanation is that it’s all part of a plot by the aliens to lower the morale of us puny Earthlings by messing with our booze, but that might be a real stretch. :/
Iii I absolutely love blarkheart it is as smooth a rum as I have ever tryed. Maybe better neat than in mixed drink where you taste the mix as much as the rum.