Comparison: The four Kraken ceramic bottle limited editions

Today, I have decided to compare all the ceramic bottle limited editions by Kraken. There were some uncertainties as to the contents of the bottle – is it the same or not? I tried hard and compared the colour, smell and taste of all the four editions. To be precise: the Kraken rum BLACK ceramic bottle, WHITE, BLACK AND WHITE and BLACK (Grey). So let’s get started.

The origin

All the rums come from the same origin. Kraken Rum is imported from the Caribbean (Trinidad and Tobago), blended with 11 types of secret spices. It should be aged for approx. 12 to 24 months. It bears the name of a sea monster, myth and a legend. Legend has it that a ship carrying one of the largest amounts of black rum, which was for unknown reasons brought from the Caribbean islands, never reached its destination. There were a lot of rumours circulating, most often about a huge sea monster, which drew ships down under the water with its huge tentacles. None of the stories was proven true though. 

The colour 

The colour of this rum evokes octopus ink in a glass container. It is coffee-dark brown. When I poured all the 4 rums, I started comparing the colours. Except for the white bottle, all the samples were the same. The rum from the white ceramic bottle was a bit lighter in colour. 

The smell

The White and Black bottles were the best for me. 

• Black: Pleasant, sweet, dominant sugar cane notes and a hint of sherry. In the background vanilla and chocolate, spices and a touch of compote. 

• White: Sweeter smell, dominant caramel and sherry. Complemented with vanilla notes, dried fruits and spices. The chocolatey notes are not present. 

• Black and White: This smells harsher, more pungent. Still there are the sherry-like notes, caramel, vanilla and spices. Touch of fruits (compote). 

• Black (Grey): With this sample, the sherry notes are less pronounced, really subtle. Dominant sugar cane and vanilla, I would say creamy, with a bit of forest fruits in the background. 

The taste

I prefer the White bottle. I like the taste, it is nicely intensive and balanced, just a bit on the sweet side. The rum in all the bottles contains 40 % of alcohol and 20-30g/l of sugar.  

• White: It is smooth and sweet but also a bit harsher on the tongue. Quite pronounced woody notes, spices, caramel and hints of vanilla and chocolate. The same is true for the finish, which is not very long but nicely sweet.

• Black: This one is also sweeter and a bit harsher. More sherry notes with sugar cane, spices and vanilla. Hint of cocoa in the finish. The finish here is a bit worse. 

• Black and White: With this bottle, there is more of the alcohol notes. Also caramel and a very light hint of sherry. Again the classic vanilla, spices and chocolate.

• Black (Grey): The taste is harsher than with the other samples. I almost cannot taste the sherry. Dominant sugar cane and woody notes. The spices and chocolate are also there. 

The bottle

These bottles are pure works of art. They are supposed to be the replicas of the original bottles found on the shores of the Caribbean islands. The bottles were created in memory of the gigantic sea monster and also to commemorate all the dead sailors. Near the neck, there are rounded handles which were originally used to hang rum bottles on the walls during a rocky sailing trip. There is a plastic portrayal of the Kraken on each bottle. Each of them is arranged differently though, and has a different colour. The bottle is made of ceramic, i.e. opaque. It is topped with a cork top with the brand logo on the front. They are all 0.7 l. 

The price

This gets a bit complicated due to availability. Black and Grey are quite available in our country, with prices around CZK 1500 to 2000. The White version is available in one e-shop, as far as I know, for CZK 2500. Black and White never made it here, you may purchase abroad with prices around CZK 1500-2000. 

The verdict

I have to say I contacted the brand before the tasting. They got back quite fast, saying all the bottles contained the same rum. They only difference are the different limited bottles and the period of bottling. Approaching the tasting with this information, I have to confirm this. The basis is definitely the same. Both in the smell, taste and finish. I noticed nuances which may be due to the period of bottling (i.e. a different barrel, different spice ration etc.)… This, according to the brand, might be true. I have had the White bottle for a year and a half, the Black (grey) only for a month. That’s maybe why the rum inside is a bit different. But all in all, the versions taste all very similar. 

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