Duncan Taylor 2007 Darsa 8-Year

Made at the very same DARSA distillery in Tulula, Guatemala, as the infamous brands Botran and Zacapa, this is what those brands COULD BE - Should they drop the added sweeteners and other such. At 53.2%, this one bursts with beautiful fruity notes: Pineapple, apple, mango...Wow what a surprise! No added sugar, no heavy filtration, does not rely on added sherrywine for body....and is Darn fine Rum. Lovely.

At a pretty powerful 52.3%, you get a lot of whisky-like punch as soon as this touches your lips here. Once you get past that, the mouthfeel is pleasingly rich and unctuous. There are fruity notes here, and the lack of artificial sweetness is a big plus, but the alcohol mainly prevails for me.