Malteco Seleccion 1990

Malteco Seleccion 1990 comes from Bodegas de America in Panama, drawn from a 1990 distillation and aged 27 years. Although the label points to cane juice as the base, it drinks firmly in Panama's soft, mellow, vanilla and spice tradition, the long maturation in ex bourbon oak showing in vanilla, caramel, banana and oak on the nose. Bottled at 40%, it is built for gentleness over power.

The palate is sweet and rounded, vanilla and caramel with a nutty edge running into a finish of vanilla, sweetness and marzipan. For a rum of this age the intensity stays restrained, and there is an evident softness and sweetness that makes it an effortless sipper rather than a demanding one. Some drinkers wish for more grip and a higher strength to match the years behind it, but as a smooth, after dinner Panamanian it delivers exactly the easy, dessert leaning character the style is loved for.