A.H. Riise XO Reserve Rum Port Cask

A.H. Riise is a molasses rum from the Virgin Islands known for its sweet style, and this XO Reserve is finished in port casks and bottled at 45%. It is openly sweetened, so the honest framing is a dessert-leaning rum rather than a dry sipper, with the sugar and finish shaping the whole profile.

The character here is led by dosage, wood and the port cask rather than the spirit. Aromas are sweet with vanilla, wood and an alcohol lift, the palate is thick and sugary with spice, fruit and wood, and the finish stays sweet on caramel and brown sugar with a porty, slightly smoky edge. At 45% there is a little spirit warmth through the sweetness. This is comfortable, easy drinking for the sweet-toothed, a soft, liqueur-like, port-tinged rum to enjoy as a dessert pour, with no pretence of classic dry rum complexity.