There is something stubborn about doing things the wrong way round. The world is full of whisky that has been allowed to rest in used rum casks. Here it is the rum that has taken the trip the other way and settled into a cask that once held Scotch malt whisky. The nose is Caribbean. The tail is a touch Highland.
Expert description
Opthimus 15 Year barricas de Malt Whisky Finish is a Dominican Rum from Oliver & Oliver, matured by the solera method in ex-bourbon casks and finished in Scotch Single Malt Whisky casks before bottling at 43%.
Oliver & Oliver is based in Santo Domingo, but the family's story begins in Cuba, where Juanillo Oliver built his first rum production in the late 1800s. When the family resumed the work in the 1990s, it happened from the Dominican Republic. The house distils and blends rum from molasses on column stills and supplements with distillates from, among other places, Panama, Trinidad, Colombia and Nicaragua. That exact blend is the house's signature, and what precisely goes into any given bottle they keep close to the chest.
Maturation happens by the solera principle, the same system the sherry houses of Andalusia use. The casks stand in tiers, and rum is always drawn from the lowest and oldest row, which is then topped up from the row above. The number 15 on the label refers to the oldest rum in the system, not every drop in the bottle. That gives a rum with both youthful fruit and the deep, concentrated tone that only time in cask can deliver.
After the solera maturation in ex-bourbon casks, the rum moves onto casks that previously held Scotch Single Malt Whisky. This is where the bottle sets itself apart. The whisky cask lays a dryness over the Spanish-style sweetness, brings the spice forward and gives the finish an edge the Opthimus range is not otherwise known for. This bottling is from 2018 and made in a limited, numbered series of 3,000 bottles.
Tasting Notes
Nose
Vanilla and light honey first, then dried fruit and cask oak. Behind it lies cinnamon, sandalwood and a dry, almost malty tone that does not belong in a typical Dominican rum.
Palate
Full-bodied and soft with clear toffee and vanilla sweetness. Then the whisky cask enters from the side with pepper, roasted nuts and a dryness that keeps the sweetness in check. The oak is present throughout without becoming dominant.
Finish
Long and warm. The dryness from the malt cask lingers alongside pepper and a last trace of syrupy sweetness.
Specifications
Name: Opthimus 15 Year barricas de Malt Whisky Finish
Distillery: Oliver & Oliver
Region/Country: Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Type: Dominican Rum
Age: 15 Years
ABV: 43%
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: Ex-Bourbon casks, finished in Scotch Single Malt Whisky casks
Distillation method: Column distilled
Bottled: 2018
Number of bottles: 3,000
Edition: Solera Malt Whisky Finish
EAN no.: 7466871101087
Serving suggestion: At room temperature in a tulip-shaped glass, or with dark chocolate
Flavour Profile
Sweet · Spiced · Vanilla · Dried Fruit · Oak
Did You Know?
The casks for the finishing come from Tomatin in the Scottish Highlands. It is rare for a distillery to send its used casks that way. Normally the traffic goes the other direction, with Scotch distilleries queuing up for rum casks for their own finishes.
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