Dictador Rum Café 100 40%
Column still spirit, aged for 100 month in ex-Bourbon casks and filtered through Arabica coffee beans
Tasted: Feb 2017
The nose is surprisingly quite heavy on the vanilla and sweet-ish with plenty of dark, roasted coffee. In fact there is possibly too much coffee and not enough rum character and the coffee becomes a little burnt with time.
The palate displays more soft molasses and subtler oak notes. The coffee bean note is pleasantly pure and shows some roasted characteristics on the middle, but like the nose it is rather dominating. Medium length with the crisp, column still notes coming through on the finish.
Dictador Rum 12 year old 40%
Produced from Sugar Cane Honey, Pot & Column Still distilled, Solera Matured
Tasted: Oct 2015
Crisp and clean aromas with some distinct, slightly grainy column still notes up first, followed by dried fruit, caramel/ toffee and a touch of Agricole-esque vegetal notes. With time the heavier/ darker pots still aromas appear along with hints of honey.
The palate is fuller with more of the coffee/ caramel and pot still weight evident. Very smooth with hints of slight vegetal dried fruit and oak appears on the middle along with a light nuttiness. Long, coffee laced dried fruit finish with a touch of column still sharpness in the finish.
Dictador Rum 20 year old 40%
Produced from Sugar Cane Honey, Pot & Column Still distilled, Solera Matured
Tasted: Oct 2015
The nose is deeper and darker than the 12 year old with coffee infused maple syrup, brown sugar and more of the weighty pot still notes. Lightly smoky and spicy. The spice has an almost sherry cask feel to it, possibly some sherry butts are used in the solera? A touch of crisp column still spiciness joins in as does some subtle medicinal notes.
The palate is as weighty as the nose suggests, but quite elegant and very well balanced by the column still element. Slightly bitter, dark coffee, sultana and dried citrus follow. Lightly nutty and smoky and nutty on the middle with a touch of honey and vanilla oak. Good spicy finish with like the 12 year old a touch of crisp column still spiciness and lingering toffee/ coffee.
Dictador Rum 20 year old 40%
Re-Tasted: Oct 2016
Soft silky and quite coffee’d aromas. Hints of vanilla, dark chocolate, citrus and weighty molasses. Possibly a little commercial in style but super soft with a subtle spiciness and crisp column still note to balance the sweet dried fruit.
The palate is soft and coffee’d with subtle dried fruit rancio and a touch of vanilla. Very deep and ultra smooth, but like the nose the column still spirit adds a subtle crispness. However it’s very chocolaty on the middle. Long and remaining coffee’d and vanilla’d with a little bittering from the oak giving the finish a bit of an edge.
Dictador 20 year old Rum 40%
Re-Tasted: Feb 2017
A soft and silky nose, which displays more of the herbal column still character than previous bottlings. Beneath is the weight pot still and molasses along with hints of chocolate, coffee, violets, dried fruit, vanilla and subtle sherry cask-like notes.
The palate opens with the edgy, herbal column still notes, followed by juicy dried fruit, molasses, vanilla, coffee and dark chocolate. The weighter pot still character and oak comes through on the middle giving it a lovely, fuller mouth-feel. Long and vanilla’d with the crisp column still notes returning but the underlying molasses, coffee anc chocolate balance.
Dictador Best of 1978 (37 year old) Rum 43.8%
American Oak Cask No: AO148/ Batch 76-0124/ Dist: 1978 Btl: 2015/ Tasted: Feb 2017
Immense aromas of rich, molasses and dark chocolate, interlaced with coffee, violets, oxidised fruit and earthy notes. Lightly woody with dusty American oak tannins, but the sweetness of the spirit balances. Amazing maturity with hints of tobacco leaf and subtle menthol.
Full of molasses character on the palate with dark honey and dried fruit. Unctuous and velvety with coffee, dark chocolate, cigar leaf and vanilla. The oak shows some lovely, dusty maturity but the emphasis is definitely on the molasses coated oxidised fruit and coffee notes. Long and crisper as some column still notes appear along with cocoa powder and wood tannins, but the coffee’d molasses underpin and linger.
Whisky According to Chris Whiskyman 