Don Q Añejo

Don Q Anejo, from Destileria Serralles in Puerto Rico, is a column-distilled molasses rum carrying an 8 year age statement, matured in ex-bourbon oak and bottled at 40 percent. It is a workhorse Spanish-style rum, made for everyday mixing rather than for slow neat appraisal.

The profile is light: caramel and vanilla with a cola note and a little wood spice over a sweet, faintly metallic base, finishing short, woody and slightly bitter. Taken neat it can come across as thin and alcohol-forward for the age, which is where it shows its limits. Its natural home is a glass with cola or a simple cocktail, where the soft sweetness and gentle spice sit comfortably and the rum does the easy, reliable job it was built for.