Eminente Reserva, 7 year

Eminente is a Cuban rum brand with a focus on aguardiente, a raw cane spirit distilled at lower strength to retain more flavour. It plays a central role in traditional Cuban rum production, and the 7 Year Old Reserva, the flagship expression of the Eminente range, is built around a high proportion of it aged in American oak.

The bottle itself also makes a strong first impression before you even pour it. The bottle has a textured crocodile skin finish on the glass and a decanter-style silhouette that stands out on my shelves. I’ve had this one open for a while, and it’s a rum I revisit often.

Facts & Figures.

ABV: 41.3%

Country: Cuba

Age: 7 years

Cask: white oak, ex-whisky

Still: Column

Price: £50

Distillery: Ronera Central

On the nose.

There’s a spiky pepper note that isn’t very common for a column still rum of a relatively young age. Dusty chocolate, dry almonds and espresso. Overall this comes across on the dryer, warmer side of the scale rather the lighter, fruitier profile that we might expect from a Cuban rum.

On the palate.

The pepper from the nose is present but much more mellow (less in your face). There’s a nice sweetness to this with vanilla and caramel (not artificial or overpowering) whilst overall this remains pleasantly dry. Dark chocolate and (also dark) coffee develop on the finish.

Checking against the official tasting notes for this I saw they mentioned pears. It took a while for me to really pull this out; as I realised it is more like a pear drop (the sweet) rather than the fruit itself.

7/10 – This is a rum I regularly find myself coming back to.