Zuidam Flying Dutchman No. 1

Flying Dutchman No. 1 is the entry in Zuidam's rum range, a Netherlands distillery far better known for its grain whisky and genever. Pot distilled from molasses and given only a single year in ex bourbon, it is an unsweetened, honestly young spirit that wears its youth and its continental, cool climate maturation plainly.

The aroma is markedly fruity and almost wine like, with wood and a solvent edge behind. The palate is light and rustic, tobacco, earth and pear with a touch of spice and faint smoke, finishing earthy and mild. The wine like character and short maturation make it a divisive, idiosyncratic pour rather than a polished sipper, of interest mainly to those curious about how a whisky house approaches very young rum, or as a rough and ready base for experimentation.