Las Cabras Offrian Rum 12

Las Cabras bottles this as a twelve-year Panamanian rum, and Panama is the soft, vanilla-and-spice heartland of the Spanish style, much of it flowing from the country's big distilleries into the wider trade. This is an unpretentious aged ron aimed at relaxed sipping rather than a heavyweight statement.

The make is column-distilled molasses spirit matured in ex-bourbon barrels, which gives the expected vanilla, barrel and caramelised, brown-sugar tones. The palate is spicy and lightly sweet with a woody backbone, and the finish carries that gentle spice and brown sugar through. At 40% it is smooth and easy, the kind of mellow, well-made Panama that goes down without fuss. Some find it pleasant but a touch plain next to its livelier siblings, so set expectations accordingly: solid and rounded rather than thrilling.