Famille Ricci OVNI 8

OVNI 8 is part of Famille Ricci's unidentified-blend series, an unsweetened cask strength marriage of rums from multiple distilleries aged in ex-bourbon wood and bottled at 55.2% at around eighteen to nineteen years. It pairs a funky, banana-rich pot still component, with clear Worthy Park character, against the vanilla-and-oak sweetness of a Spanish-style rum.

The nose brings banana, barrel, allspice and anise, while the palate is banana-driven with smoke, barrel and brown sugar ahead of a finish that turns bitter, musty and salty with vanilla. Drinkers note the pronounced smokiness and feel the blend is not entirely rounded, the two styles meeting without fully resolving, though that slight friction is part of its character. As a bold, full-proof and unusual blend it rewards the curious neat sipper, ideally with time in the glass and a little water to settle its edges.