Las Cabras Planteray (Germany & Austria) 1992

This is a thirty two year old Las Cabras Panama, vintage 1992, bottled by Maison Ferrand under its Planteray label as a single cask. Maison Ferrand is best known for openly dosed cocktail rums, but this vintage release is declared unsweetened, letting the long tropical ageing speak on its own terms, and it sits at a natural 50.5%.

Three decades of age have taken the normally soft Panama spirit somewhere dry, spicy and deep. The nose offers nutmeg, spice, oak and coffee, the palate turns to nutmeg, candied notes, spice and cinnamon, and the finish carries burnt sugar, allspice, cinnamon and wood. Tasters describe an oily texture, dark chocolate, honeyed sweetness, restrained fruit and intense fresh allspice, noting it drinks far drier and better than sweeter predecessors. This is a serious, spice driven Panama that trades big fruit for roasted wood, chocolate and coffee, rewarding those who like their aged rum dry and contemplative.