Don Q Grand Añejo Commemorativo 1993

Don Q Grand Añejo Commemorativo 1993 comes from Destilería Serrallés in Puerto Rico, the house behind Don Q, a column still molasses rum from a 1993 vintage given twelve years in ex-bourbon oak before bottling at 40%. Released to mark an occasion, it shows a more aged and serious side of the clean Puerto Rican style.

The twelve years in oak have built a drier, wood-led profile. The nose offers wood, chocolate, caramel and dried fruit, and the palate keeps that going with a sweet edge, dried fruit and chocolate over the oak. The finish stays woody with dried fruit and a toasted note. This is a smooth, classically aged column still rum, drier and more structured than the entry-level Puerto Rican pours yet still approachable at 40%. A composed, oak-driven sipper for those who like the cleaner Spanish-heritage style with a little age behind it.