Sansibar Finest Rum Berlin 1999

Sansibar is a German selector known for picking single casks across whisky and rum, and this Finest Rum Berlin release takes Nicaraguan rum from 1999, a column distilled molasses spirit in the cleaner Spanish style. Nicaragua tends toward drier, more spirit forward rum than its sweeter neighbours, and that shows here.

Twenty years of ex-bourbon ageing has built a chocolate led character. Chocolate and cocoa define the nose, while the palate adds coffee to the chocolate, with the alcohol still making itself felt and not fully integrated despite the time in wood. Bottled at cask strength of 49.1% it keeps that firm, spirit forward edge, with no added sweetness softening the picture. The result is a darker, more austere old Nicaraguan ron, one for drinkers who enjoy chocolate and coffee depth carried at full proof rather than a smooth, sugared finish.