Roner R74

Roner is a long established Alto Adige distillery in northern Italy, and the R74 is its take on rum, built from molasses and bottled at a sociable 40%. It turns a dark, almost orange amber in the glass and presents a profile that owes as much to Alpine fruit spirit as to the tropics.

The nose is full of dried fruit, sour apple, raisin and apricot with very little alcohol showing, and the palate keeps that orchard theme going with apple, pear and apricot lifted by allspice and a honeyed sweetness. The finish stays fruity and gently sweet with more dried apricot and pear. It is an approachable, almost dessert-like rum that rewards curiosity more than it chases depth, an interesting fruity oddity to try neat after dinner rather than a heavyweight aged showpiece.