Famille Ricci

Famille Ricci is a French selection of a 27 year old Panamanian rum, bottled at a forceful 62% and left unsweetened to show the spirit at full intensity. Panama's column distilleries supply much of the independent bottling world, and an old age like this rewards the soft, mellow base with serious depth.

Distilled on column stills from molasses and matured in Ex-Bourbon oak, it is concentrated and bone dry by the standards of the style: cocoa, coffee and an overripe fruit note on the nose, then coffee, wood and dark chocolate across a powerful palate, with chocolate carrying the finish. At full strength the proof is high, but the long ageing keeps it composed, and the absence of added sugar lets the oak and roasted character lead. A demanding, rewarding pour that benefits from water and patience, far removed from Panama's gentler everyday rums.