Havana Club Cuban Smoky

Havana Club Cuban Smoky is a Cuban ron given an unusual finish, a molasses spirit distilled on a column still in the light island style and then rested in beer and Islay whisky casks. The idea is to lend a peated, smoky edge to the otherwise clean and approachable Cuban template, and it sits at a soft 40%.

The nose carries whisky, sweetness, wood and a wisp of smoke, with the palate echoing that whisky-and-smoke character over soft oak and a finish of smoke, wood and chocolate. In practice the smoke is gentle, and several tasters find the peat fainter than the billing suggests, so it reads more as a lightly smoky, sweet ron than a bold Islay-style statement. That makes it most rewarding as a mixer with a twist: in a cola or ginger-beer highball the soft caramel sweetness and faint smoke give a familiar drink an extra dimension.