Naga Java Reserve

Naga Java Reserve is a seven year old rum from the Naga distillery on Java, Indonesia, made from molasses on a combination of pot and column stills and matured in ex bourbon oak. Despite the Indonesian provenance it sidesteps the wild Batavia arrack character some might expect, landing instead as a soft, sweet leaning aged rum.

Licorice dominates throughout, supported by brown sugar, caramel, raisin and a little spice, with a sweet, woody finish carrying more of the same. It is easy drinking and pleasant but fairly straightforward, the sugar and aniseed note doing most of the talking rather than layered complexity. Read honestly it is a casual sipper or a flavourful mixer rather than a deep, contemplative bottle, well suited to drinkers who enjoy sweet, licorice tinged rums and are not chasing intensity. At 40% it stays gentle and undemanding, an accessible taste of Indonesian rum for the curious.