1731 Fine & Rare Single Origin 5 Year Old Rum

1731 Fine & Rare is an independent label working in a deliberately purist vein, and this single-origin Dominican ron is a young, undosed bottling at five years. It sits apart from the soft, sweetened mainstream of Spanish-style ron, presenting the bare spirit at a higher strength with no added sugar to round the edges.

Column distilled from molasses and aged in ex-bourbon, it is honestly a lean, light bodied rum, with citrus on the nose and a thin, dry palate carrying caramel and a touch of bitterness over an assertive alcohol note. At 46% and unsweetened, it shows the limits of a young, neutral leaning Dominican distillate stripped of dosage, more an exercise in transparency than a crowd pleasing sipper. One for drinkers who want to taste the unvarnished spirit, with the caveat that it stays austere.