Don Q Double Cask Finish (Zinfandel Casks) 2009

Don Q's Double Cask Finish, from Destileria Serralles in Puerto Rico, takes column-distilled molasses rum from the 2009 vintage, around 5.5 years old, and rounds it off in Zinfandel wine casks. Bottled at a soft 40 percent, it is an approachable release that adds a fruity wine angle to the house's familiar smooth style.

The wine finish reads as fresh red fruit, sitting alongside soft caramel, vanilla and citrus over young, gently earthy oak. The palate is light and balanced, with the Zinfandel adding a red-fruit lift rather than heavy tannin, and the finish stays dry and clean. It is an easy, undemanding pour, well suited to drinkers who enjoy smooth, lightly sweet Spanish-style rum and are curious to see what a wine cask brings without straying far from comfortable, familiar territory.