Comercializadora Pame S.A. Sol Tarasco Charanda Rum

Charanda is Mexico's protected cane spirit from the Michoacan highlands, and this Sol Tarasco is made from fresh sugar-cane juice, placing it in the agricole-style family rather than the molasses mainstream. Distilled on a column still and aged ten years in ex-bourbon oak, it is bottled unsweetened at 42%.

The character is earthy and distinctly atypical. The nose carries nutmeg, banana, coffee and a toasted edge; the palate turns to toasted oak, dark chocolate and vanilla with a woody depth; the finish brings smoke, sugarcane, caramel and citrus. Tasters describe it as aromatic, complex and unusual, with earthy, vegetal and even briny touches that set it apart from Caribbean cane-juice rum. It rewards curiosity, a characterful sipper off the beaten path for drinkers who enjoy exploring how cane spirit expresses itself beyond the familiar islands.