Side by side: Irish Rum?

In the build up to St. Patrick's Day I'm reviewing Irish drams, this time it's two finished in Rum casks, the @TullamoreDEW XO Caribbean Rum Cask Finish and @WalshWhiskey The Irishman Founder’s Reserve - Caribbean Cask Finish.

Dram	Tullamore DEW XO Rum Cask	The Irishman Founder's Reserve
Characteristics	43% ABV, Natural coloured, NCF (This is thought to be a young dram from Tullamore's new distillery)	46% ABV, Natural coloured, NCF (This will be probably be sourced from Midleton (Pot) and Bushmills (Malt) stock)
Distillery info	Triple distilled triple blend of pot still, malt and grain Irish whiskey finished in the finest first fill XO rum casks previously used to age Demerara Rum to impart their distinctive tropical fruit and warm spice flavours. Nose: Notes of vanilla and oak overlaid with citrus, ripe bananas and delicate spice. Palate: Creamy smooth mouthfeel bringing out the deliciously deep caramel and banana notes with hints of dates and raisins. Finish: Long and sweet with bananas and caramel lingering.	The Irishman Founders Reserve Caribbean Cask Finish is a blend of both Single Pot Still and Single Malt whiskeys which were initially aged in ex-Bourbon American oak barrels before being finished in Chairman's Reserve Rum for six months. Summer in a glass with an abundance of tropical fruit flavours! Nose: Exotic Rum, apricots and summer fruits. Palate: An avalanche of tropical fruits and vibrant spices. Finish: Figs, banana and oak spices intermingling in a spectacular Caribbean twist.
My thoughts:
Appearance	Pale gold in the glass, swirls cling to the glass before eventually turning into slow thin legs.	A slightly darker gold, more honeyish, swirls bead up and fall as thick legs.
Nose	Loads of tropical notes - banana, pineapple and mango. There's a hint of lemon juice in the background to give an interesting sour note.	A more reserved nose - orchard rather than tropical fruit apples, pears etc. There's a honey sweetness and a hint of strawberries.
Palate	As the notes say a smooth creamy arrival, there's a little fresh banana and toffee - maybe a banoffee pie? There's some honey and hints of dark fruit but it's quickly overtaken with a spicy bite.	Another creamy smooth arrival, but with more tropical notes loads of bananas and pineapple again overtaken with a nice spicy ginger bite.
Finish	Warming, spicy finish which leaves the tongue tingling. Some banana and honey notes.	Huge spicy ginger notes, again warming with tropical fruit notes - banana and melon - drying.
Overall	I'm not a rum drinker although I did try some once and enjoyed it! Both of these drams had tropical notes, the nose was much better on the Tullamore DEW with loads of tropical notes but barely noticeable on The Irishman. The palate and finish were reversed - The Irishman had much more tropical notes and a lot of sweetness. Maybe the Tullamore DEW could do with a little longer in the rum cask and to be bottled at a slightly higher ABV. Both of these are 'limited editions' but well worth hunting out. If I had to pick one, I'd go for The Irishman.