Oliver & Oliver Contra-Bando Black Rum

Contra-Bando is a Black Rum from Oliver & Oliver, the Dominican blending house behind Cubaney and Opthimus. Black rum as a style is dark and rounded, often carrying added colour and a soft, sweet profile aimed at easy drinking and mixing. Built on Dominican column-still molasses spirit, this should show the island's amber-to-dark register of vanilla, caramel and dried fruit, in a deeper, sweeter form. Bottled at 40%, it is an approachable pour for the after-dinner glass or for cocktails that call for a darker rum. Oliver & Oliver's own brands tend to lean sweet, and sweetness is not disclosed here, so treat this as a soft, dessert-style black rum rather than a dry one and enjoy it on those terms.