A superb vintage rum from Ron Malteco. This Guatemalan rum company is owned by Industrias Licoreras de Guatemala, who also produce the top quality rums Botran and Ron Zacapa. The rum has been distilled from the very best molasses possible, known as “virgin cane honey”. This distillate is then matured in Ron Malteco’s mountain warehouses, which sit some 2,300 metres up the Guatemalan mountains. The cooler climate that comes with this terrain allows for longer aging than most rums, creating an incredibly delicate and complex rum.
On the nose Ron Malteco 1986 offers astonishing tropical and sugar aromas, with notes of coconut, toffee, bananas, vanilla, cinnamon, dried figs, apricots, tinned peaches, plums and toasted oak. The palate is thick and decedent, faithful to the nose, but adds terrific flavours of oak, burnt butter, coffee, dark chocolate and coconut milk. Some slight curried spices emerge after a while. The finish seems to have no end, as notes of woodspice bombard the drinker. A fabulous rum, and the best we’ve tasted from this distillery. Stocks of these vintage releases are very limited, so drinkers should move fast to try this beauty.