Oliver & Oliver Opthimus 15 Años OportO 2001

Opthimus 15 Anos OportO 2001 is a Dominican ron from Oliver & Oliver, the house behind the wider Opthimus range, a molasses spirit distilled on a column still and finished in port casks. It is openly sweetened and sits squarely in the soft, dessert-leaning Spanish style, bottled at a gentle 43%.

The nose carries caramel, vanilla, coffee and wood, with a sweet, light palate of caramel and vanilla and a finish of vanilla, dried fruit and a peppery port edge. The port cask brings a plummy, raisined fruitiness, and the added sugar makes its presence felt, so this is honestly a very sweet pour rather than a dry or structural one. That candied, fruit-forward character is the appeal for anyone who enjoys a dessert ron, and it is at its best taken slowly after a meal or even spooned over ice cream. Drinkers moving toward drier, more layered rums will likely find it too sugary.