Abuelo Reserva Superior 7-Year

I was running out of rums to try that are both readily available and priced sensibly. Fifteen months ago, I reviewed it's 12 year old brother that cost $29 US back then. I rated it as a 5 and it now costs $45 US. So this here younger brother has half of the added sugar as the 12 year old and is now priced at $30 US. This is 15 gpl versus 29 gpl, which makes this one semi-dry and the 12 year being almost enough to qualify as a sugar bomb.

I was hesitant to buy until I found out that it can either be made from cane juice or combined as molasses and cane juice for the fermentation process, depending upon the season. Well down here in south Louisiana, cane cutting time is in October after the rainy season has allowed the cane to grow. I don't know when the rainy season for Panama is, but I was hoping that they would be more specific in stating whether or not it is made from 100% cane juice. Lucky for me, I understand a fair amount of Spanish and noticed two slightly different explanations on the side of the gift box. So my rum is indeed made from "mieles de cana" (cane honey) with no mention of molasses, as noted in the Spanish explanation. After seven years of aging in white oak barrels, I do not notice any floral or grassy accents found in most rhum agricoles, nor do I detect any molasses. So the Spanish statement is true, but the English statement is shortened quite a bit.

When first poured into the snifter, the aroma tells that this is a good rum and it needs no time at all to breathe. The taste is quite smooth with a bare minimum of oakiness. There is no after burn at all. This is a very good rum, but just does not have enough of those additional flavors that one finds in rum rated 8 or higher. This one is a neat sipper! I seriously doubt that I will lower my rating after a few weeks in the bottle and I am very glad that I took a chance on it. After it's 12 year older brother, I had sworn off Ron Abuelo. Never say never!