The Best Rums from Panama

Ron Abuelo XV Napoleon cask finish is part of a trio of 15 year old rums that includes Oloroso and Tawny Port cask finishes. Each average 14 years of maturation in traditional American oak before spending a year in their respective finish cask - this one in ex-Napoleon Cognac.

The SelvaRey Rum brand is co-owned by brothers Seth and Marc Gold, Robert Herzig, and American pop/R&B/funk recording artist Bruno Mars. SelvaRey Owner's Reserve Rum is made from a blend of select vintages of rums that were aged for 15 and 25 years in American oak barrels. Released in limited quantities as of January 2021.

Like the other releases in The 86 Company range, the Caña Brava Reserva Añeja was created with input from bartenders, specifically for mixing in cocktails. The first aged spirit from The 86 Co., the Reserva Añeja is a one-time release that builds on their three-year Carta Blanca Rum and is aged for seven years in used bourbon casks.

Ron Abuelo Oloroso Sherry Finish joins Napoleon Cognac and Tawny Port as the portfolio's trio of XV Cask Finishes. The rum is a blend averaging 14 years finished in traditional American oak casks, before spending a year in Oloroso sherry cask.

Ron Abuelo is produced at Panama's Varela Hermanos S.A. distillery in Pesé. 12 Años is selected from rums aged in ex-bourbon and white oak barrels, which benefit from the effects of the tropical heat. It should be noted that the distillery was the first in Panama to stop the practice of burning sugarcane fields before harvest and are committed to other green/eco-friendly initiatives.

Bottled by Italian company Savio s.r.l., the Ron Malecon 25 is distilled in Panama. Given its age, it was likely distilled at the Varela Hermanos, best known for making Ron Abuelo, under the care of revered Master Distiller “Don Pancho” Fernandez. It lies near the top of the Ron Malecon range, alongside its 12, 15, 18, and 21-year siblings. The brand is not imported into the U.S. as of yet, but is readily available in Europe.

Panamá-Pacific Rum is the brainchild of San Francisco-based Haas Brothers, an importer, marketer and merchant of distilled spirits since 1851. Estate-grown sugarcane is harvested from the renowned Panameño growing region of La Provincia de Herrera, then small batches of molasses are fermented using special proprietary yeast strains. The mash is distilled in an antique Coffey copper column-still and rested in American oak casks.

The Centuria is a solera-type blend of rums from the "Reserva de la Familia" aged up to 30 years in American whiskey barrels. Varela Hermanos, the distillery in Panama that produces this and other rum products, grows its own cane and controls the entire subsequent process from fermentation and distillation to ageing and assembly.

U.K. independent rum bottler Mezan purchases stocks of Caribbean rum, then continues to age them in England. No sugar or coloring is added, making each Mezan release a valuable resource for understanding what a distillery is capable of. In this case, it’s the Don Jose distillery in Panama, owned by Varela Hermanos, best known for their Ron Abuelo brand. Distilled in 1999, the Panama 1999 was bottled circa 2014, implying 15 years of aging, although there is no age statement given.

Panamá-Pacific Rum is named for the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition, which celebrated the completion of the Panama Canal and the rebuilding of post-earthquake San Francisco. Distilled at the famed Ingenio San Carlos (“Las Cabras”) distillery, the rum is initially rested in Kentucky bourbon casks for three years. Rum selections that are approved for an extended maturation are transferred into exhausted Tennessee whiskey barrels for further aging. Panamá-Pacific notes that the age statement reflects the youngest rum in the blend, not just a portion of it.