Flor de Caña Centenario 18 Años

Flor de Caña Centenario 18 is a Nicaraguan rum from Compañia Licorera, made in the smooth, column-distilled Spanish style but positioned around long ageing rather than added sweetness. The brand builds its identity on slow maturation and the absence of dosage, and independent testing of its range supports the dry billing, which makes this a useful step up for anyone who finds the sweeter Latin rums cloying.

The molasses spirit is distilled light and clean, so most of the character comes from the barrel: ex-bourbon oak gives caramel, vanilla, roasted nuts and a little cocoa, with brown baking spice and charred oak running through the finish. Eighteen years of warm ageing leaves it dry, oak-led and mature, soft at 40% and comfortable neat or in an Old Fashioned. It is a relaxed, grown-up sipper rather than a powerhouse, and it is honest about being so.