Zuidam Flying Dutchman Rum Port

The Flying Dutchman Rum Port is a pot still rum from Zuidam, the family distillery in the Netherlands known for doing things its own way, here matured for three years with a clear Port cask influence and bottled unsweetened at 40%. Pot still distillation gives it more body than its modest age and strength might suggest.

The Port wood dominates the aromatics, lots of red wine and dried fruit with a medicinal note in the background, and the wine character carries onto a palate of raisin, Port and young oak before a finish that stays medicinal and woody. For a three year old it shows surprising intensity, the wine cask doing much of the heavy lifting over a young spirit. With no added sugar it leans drier and more characterful than the soft Spanish-style norm, a distinctly European take on rum that will appeal to drinkers who enjoy wine-finished spirits and do not mind a touch of youthful rawness.