A.H. Riise Black Barrel Navy Spiced Rum

A.H. Riise Black Barrel Navy Spiced Rum is a flavoured rum from the Danish brand's Virgin Islands stable, a molasses base dressed up with sweetness and warming spice. There is no pretending otherwise: this is a sweet, spiced bottle made for easy drinking and mixing, not a dry aged sipper, and it is honest about that role.

The profile centres on caramel, honey and festive baking spice, cinnamon and clove to the fore, with candied orange, vanilla and a touch of coffee on the finish. At 40% it is soft and undemanding, the cinnamon giving it a clear Christmas-cookie character that suits the colder months. Most drinkers reach for it with cola or in spiced winter cocktails, where the sweetness and spice do their work. Taken neat it reads more like a liqueur than a traditional rum, so it is best kept for mixed drinks and treated as the easygoing crowd-pleaser it is.