Dictador Párrafo I Pardo 2004

Dictador Parrafo I Pardo 2004 is a vintage release from Destileria Colombiana, drawn from a single 2004 distillation and aged eighteen years. Bottled at 41%, it sits in the Colombian camp of coffee, cocoa and dried fruit, with a nose that opens on caramel, vanilla and ripe banana before a clear wood influence settles in. The eighteen years in ex bourbon casks show in the depth of colour and the roasted, chocolatey weight that builds underneath.

The palate runs leaner than the rich nose suggests, with roasted cocoa, dark chocolate and a green eucalyptus lift, before a finish layered with dark and milk chocolate, more roast and a liquorice edge. Built on a light column still spirit, the interest here comes from long ageing and a notable wood and tobacco presence rather than from heavy distillate. It drinks as a contemplative Colombian sipper, sweet but with enough roasted bitterness and oak to keep it from feeling one note.