Seven years in the past, I wrote a assessment of 4 rums from Nicaragua’s Flor de Cana, referring to the 7, 12, 18, and 25 expressions with “years outdated” hooked up. That was laziness on my half: Flor de Cana has lengthy used solely obscure numbers hooked up to phrases like “sluggish aged” reasonably than offering an actual age assertion.
Till now.
This sort of trickery has lengthy been frequent within the rum world, the place age statements don’t at all times imply what you count on, as legal guidelines range from nation to nation. Many nations require an age assertion to seek advice from the youngest spirit in a mix, however some enable an age to seek advice from a mean age, the oldest spirit in a mix, or perhaps a “fashion” the product is making an attempt to strategy. Typically these numbers imply nothing in any respect. Actually, Flor de Cana was hit with a class motion lawsuit over its labeling in 2021.
However now, Flor de Cana carries true age statements, with “years outdated” hooked up to every quantity on the label. Has that modified the rum’s high quality, taste, or anything apart from a few phrases on a sticker? Let’s discover out.
All are 80 proof.
Flor de Cana Centenario 12 Years Previous (2023) – A really quiet rum, its innate fruit tempered by a espresso and cola high quality, ringed with notes of brown sugar. More and more tropically fruity because it develops, issues change into dusted with a gentle layer of spice because it sits on the palate for a bit. The rum ultimately finds an equilibrium with some dusky barrel char exhibiting, including a savory edge to what builds into a personality approaching Mexican espresso, dosed with vanilla. There’s nonetheless loads of blended fruit all through the expertise with this rum, however the 2023 expression feels extra balanced and versatile than its not-really-age-stated incarnation, a minimum of barely. A- / $32 [BUY IT NOW FROM THE WHISKY EXCHANGE] [BUY IT NOW FROM CASKERS]
Flor de Cana Centenario 18 Years Previous (2023) – Richer and extra immersive, with notes of almond and hazelnut heavy on the nostril, alongside a toasted marshmallow sweetness. Spicy with ginger and nutmeg, plus a smoldering barrel char high quality. The palate is straight away thick with espresso notes, well-sweetened with brown sugar and a touch of tarry molasses. Fruit comes and goes, giving the rum a tropical high quality later within the recreation, hinting at coconut dipped in chocolate. Extra espresso on the end, well-sweetened however not cloying, making for a flexible, if comparatively simple mixing rum. B+ / $50 [BUY IT NOW FROM THE WHISKY EXCHANGE] [BUY IT NOW FROM CASKERS]
Flor de Cana Centenario 25 Years Previous (2023) – On the prime of the road, Flor de Cana 25 takes on a extra oxidized high quality, distinctly winey, virtually sherry-like on the nostril, which pairs properly with the heavy nuttiness that rides alongside it. There’s fruit buried in there, however there’s a lot wooden, brown sugar, and Christmas spice that it’s simply missed. The palate is immersive and laden with a panoply of flavors — first creamy cafe au lait, then coconut, cherry sno-cone syrup, and rum raisin ice cream. The sherry notes on the end are hinted at greater than forcefully pushed, tempered by notes of toasted sesame seed, bittersweet chocolate, and a dense fig-raisin character. As with the youthful expressions, that is sweeter than I’d like — although Flor de Cana boasts it isn’t dosed with sugar in any respect — however it’s worthwhile as a sipper, offered you may abdomen the value tag. A- / $185 [BUY IT NOW FROM THE WHISKY EXCHANGE] [BUY IT NOW FROM CASKERS]
Flor de Cana Centenario 25 Years Previous (2023)
$185
