Equiano Rum (43%)

If you are a rum drinker – and given the value to quality ratio of rum today, especially aged rum, you’re cheating yourself if you’re not! – then you will be well familiar with Caribbean rum of all sorts, and perhaps also the rums of northern South America. But rum is distilled throughout the world these days, even in places when sugar cane is not grown, as evidenced by a quick perusal of the tremendously informative website of Got Rum? magazine.

These sometimes unexpected sources of quality rum include the small African island nation of Mauritius, where six distilleries produce spirit distilled from both molasses and fresh sugar cane juice, or a combination of the two. One of these distilleries is Grays, founded as the Mauritius O.K. Distillery in 1931, which teams up with the Barbados distillery Foursquare to create Equiano.

The world’s first Afro-Caribbean rum, this is a blend of unadulterated rums from the two distilleries aged for an unspecified period in cognac and bourbon barrels, with part of the profits donated to Anti-Slavery International. It is named for Olaudah Equiano, an 18th century slave turned entrepreneur turned author turned anti-slavery freedom fighter. (Read more about his fascinating story at the Equiano website.)

A lovely amber in colour, the complex aroma is discernable from a foot or two away from the glass, and only grows more enticing as it nears the nose. There is a lot of fruit, caramel, and vanilla, which would seem to speak more to the bourbon barrel-aged rum from Foursquare, along with accents of brown spice in general and allspice in particular, perhaps courtesy of the French oak-aged rum from Gray’s. Put it all together and you have a powerful, and powerfully attractive, aroma.

The body is neither reticent nor full-on, but rather a medium-full character laced with spice, especially cinnamon and allspice, light notes of milk chocolate, dried rather than fresh stone fruit, dark raisins, and considering the potency of the aroma, surprisingly soft caramel and vanilla. On the finish there is a slight oakiness, some dark chocolate, perhaps more cocoa nib, and a whole lot of lasting and lingering spice.

Overall, this is a tremendous sipping rum, with all the complexity of a VSOP cognac or single malt whisky, albeit manifested in a much different fashion. As I noted earlier this year in Canada’s 100 Best magazine, you could mix this, but you probably shouldn’t. Hell, you probably shouldn’t even add ice.

92 ($89 - $93)