Opthimus 18 years Dominikanske Republik Rum 38%

Outside Santo Domingo the warehouses stand close together, and the air inside stays heavy and warm all year.

Time works faster here than in a Scottish dunnage. The casks give up their character at a pace no cool northern cellar can match, and the angels take their cut every single year.

Opthimus is the Oliver family's answer to what that heat can do, if you still have the patience to wait.

The expert's description

Opthimus 18 years Cum Laude 2019 is a Dominican Rum from Oliver & Oliver, matured in ex-Bourbon casks of American white oak and bottled at 38%.

Oliver & Oliver is a family business with Cuban roots. The family left Cuba in 1959, and it was not until the early 1990s that the company was rebuilt in the Dominican Republic, where it sits today in Hato Nuevo outside Santo Domingo. The house does not distil its own spirit. It blends and matures molasses-based distillates under maestro ronero Don Pedro Oliver.

Maturation follows the Sistema Solera, the Spanish pyramid system originally developed for sherry. Rum of different ages is blended continuously through a tier of casks, so a fraction of the oldest rum always carries forward. The 18 on the label refers to the oldest rum in the blend, not to everything in the bottle. That is worth knowing if you come from whisky, where an age statement means precisely the opposite.

Cum Laude is Oliver & Oliver's own designation for the bottlings the house rates highest, and it appears only on selected releases. This one was bottled in 2019 in a run of 1,000 bottles. Every bottle is filled, labelled and numbered by hand, and the label carries the maestro ronero's signature. The casks are former Bourbon barrels from Kentucky, made from American white oak, and they are the source of the vanilla, coconut and soft timber running through the whole palate. The 38% is a deliberate house choice: this rum is built for softness rather than punch.

Tasting notes

Nose

Warm vanilla and light honey lead. Behind them come toffee, dried fig and a mild cocoa note, and right at the back a trace of pipe tobacco and dry oak.

Palate

Soft and rounded. Honey and caramel carry the opening, then dark chocolate and roasted coffee unfold, with a faint peppery edge and a hint of ginger in the background keeping the sweetness in check.

Finish

Long and spiced-sweet. The vanilla lingers longest, alongside sweet oak and a dry tobacco note right at the end.

Specifications

Name: Opthimus 18 years Cum Laude 2019
Distillery: Oliver & Oliver
Region/Country: Dominican Republic
Type: Dominican Rum
Age: 18 years by the Sistema Solera method
ABV: 38%
Size: 70 CL
Cask type: Ex-Bourbon casks of American white oak
Bottled: 2019
Number of bottles: 1,000
Edition: Cum Laude
Serving suggestion: Neat at room temperature in a tulip-shaped glass

Flavour profile

Sweet · Cask matured · Vanilla · Cocoa · Soft

Did you know?

Oliver & Oliver hold more than 3,000 American white oak casks, every one of which held Bourbon in Kentucky before being shipped to the Caribbean. Few rum brands can match a cask stock of that size.

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Frequently asked questions about Opthimus 18 years Cum Laude

What does Opthimus 18 years Cum Laude taste like?

It tastes of honey, caramel and vanilla over dark chocolate and roasted coffee. The softness comes from the 38%, and a light peppery edge stops the sweetness from taking over. The finish is long and spiced-sweet with sweet oak.

How old is the rum really, if it is made by the solera method?

The 18 refers to the oldest rum in the blend, not to the average. In a solera system, older and younger vintages are blended continuously through a pyramid of casks, so what reaches the bottle is a mix of several ages. This is the reverse of the logic behind a whisky age statement, where the number is always the youngest component.

Is it sweet?

Yes, it sits at the sweeter end of the rum spectrum. The sweetness comes from the molasses, from the casks and from the house style, and it is clearly present without turning cloying. If you enjoy Ron Zacapa or Diplomatico, you are on familiar ground here.

How is it best served?

Neat at room temperature in a tulip-shaped glass. Give it five minutes in the glass before tasting, so the volatile notes settle and the vanilla comes forward. It does not take ice well at 38%, where the cold shuts the aromas down. See our selection of Rum Glasses.

Does it work as a gift?

It is a safe choice for someone who likes soft, sweet spirits. The modest strength makes it easy to approach for anyone who does not drink rum regularly, and the hand numbering and the signature on the label give the bottle a personal detail that unwraps well.

What does Cum Laude mean?

Cum Laude is Oliver & Oliver's own quality designation for selected bottlings. The phrase is Latin for "with praise" and is used in the same spirit as on a degree certificate. The house also uses Magna Cum Laude and Summa Cum Laude on the older releases in the range.

What characterises rum from the Dominican Republic?

Dominican rum is typically molasses-based, column distilled and softer in style than Jamaican and Guyanese rums. The climate drives fast maturation and heavy evaporation, and many houses work with solera systems. See the full range of Dominican Republic Rum.