Matusalem Insolito Wine Cask 2019

Matusalem Insolito is a wine-finished expression from the Dominican Republic, built from molasses spirit distilled on a column still in the clean, approachable Spanish style where most of the character is meant to come from the cask rather than the spirit itself. The 2019 vintage takes that soft base and runs it through red-wine casks, an unusual move for a ron and one that gives the glass a new-world wine cast of red fruit and grape skin.

The result is light in body and gentle in sweetness, with caramel and vanilla underneath berries, soft tannin and a faintly floral lift. Distillation on column stills keeps everything smooth and unhurried, while the wine cask supplies most of the colour and the drier, slightly spicy edge through to a woody finish. It reads as a curiosity rather than a heavyweight, a tidy after-dinner pour for anyone who wants a wine-tinged ron without big oak or heat to wrestle with.