From the immediate smiling Hoti around the bottle, you know its going to be an enlightening experience. This XO Reserve is aged for 15 years in two barrels?.French Limousin oak and American oak. This gives this rum a very fruity, yet creamy, buttery flavor. The flavor then snaps back with a sweet honey glazed lip smack. The other thing i like about this rum, which is a blend of other Carribean rums, is its dark color. Rarely do you find such a sweet rum so easy to drink and yet, so dark and complicated. And that, my scallywags, is my ONE bitch abouyt this rum?its soooo easy to drink, you forget this is an 80 proof booze.