Bardinet Rhum Negrita Negrita «Old Nick» Rum bottled 1950s

This is a slice of liquid history, an Old Nick bottling of Bardinet's Negrita brand filled in the 1950s. Despite the Martinique association, it is a molasses rum rather than an agricole, a style of old commercial rum that predates much of today's terroir focus, and a chance to taste how rum read decades ago.

Distilled on a column still and bottled at a firm 60%, it shows the spicy, dried-fruit profile that age in glass tends to bring. The nose offers dried fruit, red fruits, barrel and baking spice, while the palate brings chocolate, caramel, red fruit and more spice. The finish leans on barrel, oak and a sour-cherry note. Body is on the lighter side for the proof, but the aromatic range is wide, an intriguing historic curiosity for collectors and anyone drawn to old-style spiced and fruited rum rather than modern cane purity.