Panama - The shortcut between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans
Today I'm tasting rum from Panama. The country best known for its passage between the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean, which saves ships almost 12,500 kilometers of sailing south of Cape Horn.
I have tasted Panama rum many times before and you probably have too. There are many blended rums that contain rum from Panama. But today I taste it pure, from three different independent bottlers.
The most well-known names in Panama rum are the brands
Ron Abuelo, Rom Malecon and Ron Malteco. Perhaps you also know the independent bottlers Plantation, Rum Nation and La Masion Du Rhum which, among many other things, all release pure unblended Panama rum.
Our local independent bottler
Romdeluxe has also released an absolutely outstanding 20-year-old Panama rum in the Wild Series Rum series, which is at full cask strength of no less than 63.95%. It has finally spent 30 months in an ex Islay cask and is then rounded off with 9 grams of sugar per liter. The spicy smokiness whiskyfad along with 6.3 grams of sugar per 70 cl. bottle is really well balanced.
Panama's rum production is at the top of the country's exports, representing a value of around thirty million dollars annually. And while the national drink of choice is Seco, a high-octane spirit made from the pure sugarcane juice, rum is produced by traditional methods using the sticky, grassy and licorice-like by-product of sugar production, molasses.
Panama's climate and nutrient-rich volcanic soil make it a fertile breeding ground for the single most important ingredient for making rum; sugarcane. The type of rum typically produced in areas that were once part of the Spanish Empire is called anejo, meaning aged, vintage or special vintage. It's a sweet, smooth, round and pleasant rum that you can serve to anyone. This Spanish style of rum doesn't have the alcoholic heat and complexity of an unaged potstill rum. The countries that produce the anejo rum style (Spanish style) are Colombia, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Panama, Philippines, Puerto Rico and Venezuela.
If you want to read about the English rum style, drunken sailors, navy rum, gunpowder and naval history, you can read about it right here.
Now let's taste it. The rum. I'm going to taste three rums:
Transcontinental Rum Line 2010 Panama, 7 years 43%
Silver Seal Panama 2000, Don José 15 years 46%
Blackadder Raw Cask Rum FC Whisky Denmark, 11 years 63.2%Naturally, I'll start at the watered-down end at 7 years and 43% and then we'll turn it up a bit along the way to 15 years and 46%, before finishing with the final 11 years and pure cask strength of 63.2%. There are also three different price ranges from under 500 kr. to under 900 kr. and finally to under 1400 kr.
Transcontinental Rum Line 2010 Panama.
A light golden color that lies between a warm straw yellow and a light chestnut. The aroma is light, discreet acidity and freshness, citrus and a bit of glue, some dry spices and a fresh apple. There are also notes of lightly spiced baked goods, sweet citrus, leather polish and sweet pipe tobacco. It's clear that this is not a heavy rum in the glass. Yet it has some character in its mildness. The taste is spicy and fresh. There are notes of citrus/bitterness, light dry spices and fine discreet acidity and a nice dryness at the end. It is not as sweet and fruity as you would expect from a Spanish-styled and relatively watered-down rum. It doesn't taste like the rum has added sugar. This rum is 7 years old and has spent six years in Panama and a final year in Europe.
About the bottler:
Transcontinental Rum Line is an independent bottler owned by La Maison du Whisky, a major French whisky, rum and spirits importer and distributor. The company was founded in 1956 by Georges Bénitah and opened its first store in Paris in 1968. Transcontinental Rum Line is good value for money if you want to try some pure unblended rum that is affordable for most people.
Silver Seal
Panama 2000, Don José.The color is like the previous one. Somewhere between warm straw yellow and light chestnut. Nice fruity nose. Light, delicious, fruity and sweet. There are notes of nuts, milk chocolate, citrus, dried apricot and fig. It smells really good. The taste is soft and delicious. Well-composed. There are notes of citrus/orange, honeydew melon, apricot, sun and summer. Yes, I don't know what sun and summer tastes like. But I know how it feels and that's how this rum feels. A really nice glass. But it should be for the price. And it certainly is.
Silver Seal has been allowed to disclose the name of the producer and distillery. You don't always do that. So it's a seal of quality from both the distillery and the bottler. The producer is Varela Hermanos S. A. and they are behind some of the biggest rum brands from Panama. The distillery is named after the man who started the distillery Don José. The young Spanish immigrant Don José Varela Blanco established the first sugar mill in the newly formed Republic of Panama. Today, they produce rum on a quadruple column still, which produces a light, smooth and sweet rum.
The distillery is a Single Estate rum producer. This means that they are responsible for all stages of rum production, from sowing, harvesting and pressing the sugar cane to fermenting, distilling, aging and bottling the rum. Silver Seal bought this cask which has been partially aged in Scotland for a single year after the six years in Panama. This is a single cask bottling.
About the bottler:
Silver Seal Whisky Company is an Italian independent bottler of whisky and rum. The company was founded in 2000 by Massimo Righi. Silver Seal They buy casks from most of the Caribbean and let it age for a while until they think it's perfect. Silver Seal's bottlings are priced at the high end of the market and there's usually not a finger on the pulse of their bottlings, which are of very high quality.
Blackadder
Raw Cask Rum bottled for FC Whisky Denmark.Now something is happening with the percentages. All the way up to an impressive 63.2% and thus pure raw cask strength. The color is - and this is not to bore you readers - incredibly close to the two previous rums. On the nose there is ripe fruit, banana, pineapple, candy, citrus and a little lacquer and glue. There is a nice balance between fruit, fatness, sweetness and acidity and lacquer.
I should probably add that when I talk about glue and lacquer (or other strange things), it is not to talk down the rum. Not at all. Quite the contrary. The stronger and non-watered rums often have salt, citrus, glue and varnish and sometimes medicinal and chemical notes and notes of gasoline if it goes over the top. I personally really like that. It works really well when the rum has a harmonious balance between ripe or overripe, especially tropical fruit and an oily fatness. And here it is all present in a fine balance.
Well, we also have to taste. Wow. There is a lot of bite in this rum. Good wildness and nice acidity. Dry and complex. There are notes of floral honey, brown sugar and Madagascar vanilla, lacquer, citrus/lime and spicy pipe tobacco. The rum is not chill-filtered, watered down, sugar-, flavor- or color-added. It's exactly as it was in the barrel. Just the way I like it.
The aftertaste fades relatively quickly. In fact, the Silver Seal Panama flavor lasts longer, I think. Many people often ask, can't you add a few drops of water to the strong rums? Yes, you can easily do that. But I rarely do that. I prefer to let the rum open up in the glass very slowly. Swirl the rum around in the glass and let it air out, and it will open up. And then enjoy the glass over time.
About the bottler:
Blackadder is founded by Robin Tucek. He is a trained journalist and has worked in TV, sports and music. He is probably the only independent bottler to have been driven through London in Rod Stewart's car driven by Rod Stewart or to have met and interviewed Abba. Originally, the company bottled whisky. But rum was added later and Blackadder is now recognized by rum nerds as rock solid original unspoiled rum with juice and power, especially their Raw Cask bottlings.
FC Whisky doesn't write much on their website other than: We import proper whisky for the Danes. And also rum.
But I can make one thing clear. If you drink a good Panama rum, you can't go wrong.
Thomas Heie Nielsen
