Les Bienheureux El Pasador XO

El Pasador XO is a Guatemalan rum bottled by the French house Les Bienheureux, drawn from the country's large industrial distillery and presented in the smooth Spanish style. It is an eight year old column still spirit, distilled light from molasses so that the barrel and the blending do most of the flavour work.

The profile is soft and approachable: caramel, vanilla and light wood up front, with orange and dried fruit filling in, before a finish that turns slightly drier with pepper and tobacco. It sits among the gentler, sweeter Latin rums, though it carries a touch less sugar than some of its peers, which gives it a little more definition. Matured in ex-bourbon oak and bottled at an easy 40%, it is an unfussy sipper for relaxed evenings rather than a high-intensity bottle.