This non-alcoholic rum from Seir Hill let us down, and while it didn't taste great, it avoided some of the worst failures of zero proof.

A year ago when we did our first zero proof blind taste test, Seir Hill Biscane was the one rum I ordered that didn’t arrive on time to be included. When it did arrive, it was a mess of soggy cardboard and shattered glass. Because of this it’s kind of been my zero proof white whale. In hindsight it may have been a victim of high expectations.

The nose is reasonably strong, unfortunately it’s not particularly pleasant. Chocolate, stale coffee, cola, and citrus battle it out in a presentation that smells both medicinal and artificial. The palate is a bit more enjoyable, though the absence of a lot of the notes from the nose feels discordant; the citrus is still there with a distinct acidity, and then there’s a faint bit of coffee that a bit feels like you had a canned latte from a vending machine a couple hours ago. There’s a bit of a tingle and a bit of astringency. The finish is light, with a slight bitterness reminiscent of something vaguely herbal.

In our blind taste test Seir Hill Biscane scored okay as a neat sipper (6.6/10) and pretty good mixed into a daiquiri (7.7/10). What Seir Hill is trying here doesn’t quite work for me, but they are trying and the profile presents and generally “rum-coded”. Given that, and that it avoids leaning too much into acidity or simulated alcohol burn, you could do worse.

The Superficial: The label has a reasonably nice design, but the label itself has a plastic coating which, while I’m sure is great for water resistance, feels a bit cheap. The stopper is a sort of black plastic with a synthetic cork which is functional, and nicer than a screw top if not gorgeous.

Tags:  Standard Release | Zero Proof