C.A.D.C RA Rum 2005

C.A.D.C RA Rum 2005 is a Venezuelan single cask from Rum Artesanal, the German bottler working in the unsweetened full proof tradition. Drawn from a 2005 distillate of molasses spirit on a column still, it is aged seventeen years in ex-bourbon oak and bottled unsweetened at a strong 57.8% from one barrel, and it is anything but a typical smooth Venezuelan.

The defining trait is an extreme herbal streak. The nose is full of wild herbs, mint, sap and a medicinal edge, the palate carries herbs, more sap, juniper and medicine, and the finish stays herbal with anise and resin. There are flickers of dark chocolate, roasted nut and dried fruit beneath, but the overall impression sits closer to absinthe or a bitter herbal liqueur than to classic rum sweetness. It rounds out a little with time in the glass and divides opinion sharply. A dry, intense, deeply unusual single cask to try once for the experience rather than a daily pour.