Bacardi Oakheart arrives to service the lower end spiced rum market, presumably against the big contender Captain Morgan. This completes the Bacardi profile but puts itself into a market flooded with tasty competition. I think that will be Oakheart’s biggest problem, there are great competitors in the mid-tier price point at or below USD $25. While Oakheart will probably be available in most areas for $US 12-20 I think some folks will still consider a $20 to $25 dollar offering from its competition and not always just go low-end pricing.
If the world was as simple as Captain Morgan Original and Bacardi Oakheart many customers may lean towards the smoother peppery body of the Oakheart but with Captain Morgan Black hitting shelves, the game changes. Those looking for the sweet spices of a rum, you’ve got Kracken, Blackbeard, Cruzan 9, CM Black, Tattoo and so many others. I believe Oakheart brings the pepper and rum punch but it’s not, in my opinion, a traditional spiced rum offering because it doesn’t “taste” like it.
If you make an Oakheart cocktail recipe I believe most consumers, in a blind cocktail taste, will not even know it was a spiced rum cocktail. We have grown used to the sweeter charred oak caramel, vanilla, brown sugar and cinnamon flavors with a touch of allspice and a few other hidden ingredients that makes our brain say “ooh, spiced rum.”
But, I can imagine this being something of an old-style pirate rum… hardcore rum flavor with a bit of bite.
3 Comments
Rumlover
June 22, 2013 at 8:18 pmI’ve tried Bacardi Oakheart, and in my opinion, it’s everything you would expect it to be, no more and no less. It feels like a mix of both light and dark rum. Looking at the price range, Bacardi’s lighter rums outmatch Oakheart, and on the darker end of the scale Cpt. Morgan has much better products. It’s not essential to own, but it could be a decent addition to a bigger collection.
Kevin Higgins
November 29, 2013 at 4:28 pmI have to say I have had many rums and find oak heart to be my all time favorite, definitely a must in my liquor cabinet,
Karl
December 24, 2013 at 12:35 amAgree with Kevin above. Love Oakheart. Was never a fan of rum despite living in Bermuda. From the moment i sniffed the mouth of the bottle i was hooked. I know many other converts too. The south african girlfriend used to be a brandy drinker, but not any more. We tend to keep a bottle at home. Although she likes it a little weaker mixed with diet coke i tend to have it stronger. Usually about 3 shots to a glass and equal parts coke.
I have tried kraken many times and it’s just okay. I also drink captain morgains when oakheart is not on offer in the bar i’m at but i just prefer the smoothness and flavor of oakheart.
My pennies worth.