Zuidam Flying Dutchman Amarone Cask Finish

This Flying Dutchman expression comes from Zuidam, the respected Dutch family distillery, a three year old pot still rum from molasses, aged in Ex-Bourbon and finished in Amarone wine casks, bottled unsweetened at 40%. Zuidam is best known for whisky and genever, and that house identity shows strongly in the glass.

The youth and the malt forward distillate give it a distinctly whiskyish character, the nose carrying malt, cereal, young wood and a fruity note, the palate cereal, malt, wood and a light sweetness, then a finish of caramel, a whisky edge and a soapy note, with the Amarone adding a dried fruit and raisin layer underneath. Several drinkers find it reads more like a young malt whisky than a rum, with little classic rum character coming through. Honest about its lack of added sugar, it is an experimental, wine finished young rum likely to divide opinion, of most interest to whisky drinkers curious about crossover cask work.