Charles Merser & Co Rum Merchants Double Barrel

Charles Merser & Co Rum Merchants Double Barrel is a molasses blend distilled across pot and column stills, given a whisky-cask maturation and bottled at 43.1% from a single cask. It sits in approachable territory while carrying a touch more wood and spice than an entry-level pour, a step up for drinkers building their palate.

The nose is fruity, like a bowl of tropical fruit, with vanilla, sweetness and banana, while the palate brings spice, vanilla, oak and caramel. The finish turns smoky and woody, with a red-wine edge and toffee. The whisky-cask influence shows in the dry, lightly woody character, and there is a faint Jamaican-style funk on the nose for those who look for it, kept refined rather than wild. With no added sugar or colouring, it reads as an honest, easy-drinking blend. It suits drinkers who like accessible rum but want a little more wood and spice, good neat or in simple cocktails.