Berry Bros & Rudd Classic Range Rum

Berry Bros and Rudd is the venerable London wine and spirits merchant, and its Classic Range Guatemala offers an independent, restrained reading of a country usually associated with soft, sweet rum. This is a no-age-statement molasses bottling that lets the spirit show more of itself than the polished house brands tend to.

Column-distilled in the Central American manner, it is comparatively dry and peppery, with vanilla, cinnamon and wood on the nose giving way to a palate of sugarcane, toasted and smoky notes, and a finish carrying pepper, coffee and tobacco. The independent treatment gives it a firmer, more savoury frame than the region's sweeter sippers, with sandalwood and tropical fruit lurking underneath. It makes an honest, well-priced introduction to Guatemalan rum for drinkers who prefer a drier, more characterful pour over a syrupy one.