Naud Ron Venezuela 12 y.o. (70cl, 41%)

A twelve-year-old rum made from sugar cane molasses, distilled by column still. After ageing in former bourbon casks in Venezuela, it spends around six months in the Naud family's damp cellars in France, where French oak adds vanilla and mild spice. The amber rum with mahogany reflections is bottled at 41%. The sugar cane grows near Caracas and is harvested between November and February; fermentation is followed by column distillation, with tropical ageing in hot, humid days and cooler, dry nights. The nose brings fine caramel and muscovado sugar with mocha, plus coconut, cedar and oak nuances, followed by a silky, clearly structured palate with pastry notes, roasted coffee beans and fig confiture, and a lingering finish with mild cinnamon and nutmeg spice and vanilla.