Don Q and the Destilería Serrallés
has done it again with a barrel aging technique that has aided in the raising
the image of rum to new heights, emphasizing the
importance of barrel aging to the rum industry.
More and more rum producers are trying different ideas in their aging
and finishing. This is not a new idea, but
it is raising the image of rum showing its remarkable versatility of the
spirit. The result is that cask
finishing is likely to be around for quite some time. Plantation was one of the earliest companies
to use the casks from cognac and other wines and spirits to finish the rums they
sourced from around the world, today the process is being used by most all of
the producers.
Puerto Rico’s Don Q, has released its first
official cask-finished rum: Don Q Vermouth Cask Finish last February. Master Blender Jaiker Soto blends
rums aged for five-to-eight years in American white oak casks before resting
the final spirit for four-to-six weeks in Mancino Vermouth Vecchio barrels.
Crafted from Italian white oak, these casks carry aromatics of the fortified
wine they once held, as well as botanical flavors synonymous with vermouth.
This is a rum of golden amber color. With inviting aromas and
flavors of cinnamon-pumpkin loaf, pecan pie, castelvetrano olive, ginseng,
mace, thyme, and violet with a velvety, crisp, fruity light-to-medium body and
a tingling, complex, medium-long Manzanilla sherry and grass clippings finish.
A complex and lengthy rum with a unique style and spicy-salty allure.
This blend of rare rums first aged for 5 to 8
years in American White oak casks, followed by 4 to 6 weeks in Mancino Vermouth
Vecchio casks, crafted from Italian white oak. This is a rum that is of real interest to
me, because of the consistent quality of all of Roberto Serralles led
introductions of the past. It will be
priced at $49.99 and presented at 40% ABV.
