Don Q – Double Aged, Zinfandel Cask Finish

ABV: 40%

Country: Puerto Rico

Age: Initial 5-8 years then finished for an additional 3 years.

Cask: Initially American white oak barrels then Zinfandel cask.

Still: single and multi-column still

Price: £65

Distillery: Destileria Serrallés

I tried this rum a couple of times at various rum events last year and found this to be intriguing enough I knew I wanted to sit down with this with a fresh palate. A zinfandel cask finishing is unique enough to have caught my attention and I found this limited edition release to add an enjoyable layer of complexity.

Nose

The aroma kicks in from about 40cm away with a really fruity bouquet that I would associate with a rosé or a blush. Bringing this closer to my nose the profile gets much more tart with prickly pear alongside strawberries, raspberries, vanilla and polished wood. There’s a sweetness lurking underneath the tart fruit and wood that rounds this off nicely.

Palate

This is tart and acidic with the wood initially dominating the profile.

Red fruits and grapes are present underneath but these feel more like the remnants/memory of flavour rather than the typical bold notes.

Manuka honey and vanilla compliment a vase of fresh flowers nicely – not to be mistaken with floral; I’m thinking more the vase water and stems of the flowers themselves.

A wonderful sticky finish of burnt strawberry jam with some tannins and a little bitterness.

6/10 – A great price for a reasonably complex rum.