Perola Las Cabras Bellamy‘s Reserve 1997

Bellamy's Reserve is a single cask Panamanian rum bottled by Perola, distilled from molasses on a column still and drawn from a 1997 vintage to reach twenty four years. Importantly it is bottled without added sugar and at cask strength, which sets it apart from the sweeter Panamanian norm and lets the natural oak character carry the weight.

The profile is unashamedly dessert like, with roasted hazelnut, nougat, vanilla and milk chocolate on the nose, dark chocolate, nougat and roasted nuts on the palate, and a finish of dark chocolate, maple, cocoa and biscuit. That sweetness reads as cask derived rather than dosed, and at 52.3% the strength gives the rum body and grip without harshness. A nutty, chocolatey evening sipper for drinkers who like bourbon adjacent richness but want it unsweetened and at a grown up strength.