Companero Ron Extra Anejo

Companero Extra Anejo is a sweet, dessert leaning rum bottled by the Danish company 1423 World Class Spirits, a Panamanian column still molasses spirit aged in ex-bourbon oak and finished in casks that once held cocoa. That finish, not subtle, is the whole idea: the rum arrives as a wave of cocoa, dark chocolate and vanilla, with caramel underneath.

This is a sweetened, flavour forward bottle rather than a layered classic, and at a robust 54% the strength gives the chocolate a warm, sometimes spirity kick. It works best as a nightcap, alongside espresso, or stirred into a dessert cocktail, where its frank sweetness and chocolate intensity are the attraction. Worth noting for clarity that 1423 also runs a strictly unsweetened single cask line under a different name; this is firmly the sweeter, more indulgent end of their range.