Notes: This rum hails from Argentina – not exactly a place that springs to mind when one thinks of rum, but it actually had a long history of production there, ceased production in 1969 and has now restarted with this brand. Produced using highly proprietary yeasts selected to make for slow fermentation and to make the best rum. Slow distilled in antique Scottish copper stills aged in charred French oak casks,charred wood chips to increase wood aging,and using Andean mountain spring water it’s not your average rum. We use the term rum industrial to denote that it uses molasses raather than sugar cane juice.Otherwise their production puts it more in the realm of a boutique rum in terms of production methods and scale. Part of a series including : Isla ñ White, and their flavored rums, Isla ñ Coconut, and Isla ñ Lemon.

Another noteworthy point is that it is a rare exception in the gold rum category in that it is not colored and would actually be considered an Ańejo (old) rum. Many gold rums are simply white unaged rums colored with caramel or some such to give an appearance of aging- this one comes by its color honestlyfor the most part, using only a small amount of caramel to make the color in batches consistant- not make the color itself.

Appearance: Bright, light amber gold/straw color clear with no hazing, separation or floating sediments. Scalloped edge line, very thin long legs and some tiny droplets develop on swirling.

First Impression: Very aromatic, very clean, vanilla,coconut, toffee,pleasant alkali notes (cocoa,coffee,etc.), tamarind, tobacco, leather, pepper, barrel char.

Taste: The French oak char starts in almost immediately, with a pleasant and unexpected strong char, pepper, oak, with a good dose of vanilla/toffee from the oak developing citrus notes develop, with pleasant spice, alkali notes, mineral tastes, small amount of floral notes. Dryish finish; medium long.

Drinks: While I find their proprietary drinks not to my taste, other drinks fared well with their rum. One thing I would note is try it as a substitute for scotch in some of the classic scotch cocktail (like a Rob Roy or Blood and Sand) or maybe even a Berlin Chief of Station Martini.

Cigars: A cigar a little darker than the rum is a good guide. A shade grown Connecticut or maybe a Candela wrapper, Petit Corona size or Fuente Hemingway Short Story would be a good bet also.

Final Thoughts: A very atypical gold rum, not some sweet gummy molasses and caramel admixture but a interesting nuanced rum with a lot of oak aging characteristics making it more like a lowland single malt scotch in flavor than a typical rum . Excellent value for the money and an interesting addition to your bar to experiment with or enjoy on it’s own.

Bottle/Packaging: Clear glass with rounded shoulder,narrow black label with gold lower label with black neck band composite cork closure (black looks like a lab stopper, but doesn’t leak or influence the rum).

Website: http://www.isla-n.com

Fair amount of information if lacking pictures of the distillery, and some of the geeky details we look for.