Varela Hermanos 16 Year Rum (SMWS R9.11 "Zipwire")

 

I can't say I've ever had any Panamanian rum before this 16 year bottle from the Scotch Malt Whisky Society ("SMWS"). But their single cask rums have been uniformly excellent, so I immediately took a chance. Spoiler alert: I was well rewarded, this is fantastic. 

Varela Hermanos dated all the way back the infancy of the Republic of Panana, in 1908. Here is the Difford's guide for the distillery, which says more than I could intelligently say. 

Apparently this is a blend of the funky British rum style (as seen in truly out there Jamaican single casks I've had, that reeked of glue, paint thinner, gasoline, rust, and so on) and the Caribbean style, which is sweeter and smoother. Here are the official notes: 

The initial nose suggested to us bananas, baked in brown sugar and drenched in caramel sauce. Then eaten next to a burning hospital! It continued to open up with smoky BBQ sauce, charcoal embers and sticky natural tar extracts. A lot of fun, we agreed. Water brought out funny notes of fermenting strawberry and pickled cherries. Sour Belgian farmhouse ales and overripe banana wrapped in bandages. The palate opened with brown bread, medicines, gauze, salted toffee, coffee and something like seawater mixed with bacon jam! Bonkers stuff! Reduction softened things and brought lightly smoked olive oil, birch beer, mineral oil and black olive bread.

Yes please! All of those are positives in my book. Aged 16 years in a second fill barrel, bottle at 61.2% ABV, let's go explore Panamanian rum: 

Nose: Oddly, it smells like Scotch - specifically, peated Glenturret (!). I get cedar planks or pencil shavings, smoked brown sugar, and huge thick vats of caramel. Strawberries and raspberries. An odd pairing of astringent wood and cloying sweetness. Then: linen and gauze, BBQ-style smoke, and road tar. Pretty funky in a unique way. 

Mouthfeel: Definitely on the thicker side. 

Palate: Gauze, banana flambee, caramel, café au lait, hints of salty BBQ sauce. Broken pencils (graphite, cedar wood). Birch beer/root beer. Tar. I don't get any olive or bread notes. 

Finish: Smoke, banana, brown sugar, but mostly: caramel. Sweet and smoky. 

Verdict: Wonderful stuff, and oddly whisky-like. As if you had a scotch whose heart was banana instead of malted barley, but otherwise the flavor profile is similar. Super interesting, and super tasty. I am now very curious about Varela Hermanos. I think the bottom line lesson here for me is this: if you were ruined on rum by terrible college experiences with Bacardi or Ron Rico or the other swill... don't give up. There are some real stunners out there. Well-made rum is right up there with any spirit in terms of richness, personality, and depth.