Rum Review: Ron Abuelo Anejo

Posted by Arctic Wolf on February 24, 2011

Ron Abuelo Anejo rum is produced by Varela Hermanos SA in Panama, Central America. This company has a history which dates back to 1908 when Don José Varela Blanco launched the first sugar mill in the then recently formed Republic of Panama. In 1935 the site began to distill sugar cane juice for the production of liqueurs. Today the company produces an impressive array of products which includes over one million boxes of liqueurs and of course a strong variety of rum. The Ron Abuelo brand is just one brand from this wide assortment.

My first taste of this rum came in Miami (Rum Renaissance) at an event sponsored by Abuelo Rums. At the end of the event I was given a courtesy gift bag by the sponsors, and it contained a small 200 ml glass flask of Ron Abuelo Anejo which I kept unopened until now when I decided to sample the rum for the purpose of this review.

According to the website Ron o Anejo is produced from sugar cane juice rather than molasses and it is aged in white oak bourbon casks. A little research indicates that the Anejo is probably a 3-year-old rum. It stands at the bottom of the rungs, with respect to the Ron Abuelo lineup, accompanied in the brand line up by a 7-year-old and a 12-year-old rum.

Here is an excerpt from my review:

“…Vanilla, caramel and citrus peel lead out first but I soon taste firm fruitiness reminiscent of black cherries and wild field-berries. The fruity tastes are reminiscent of a Port wine influence, and they have me somewhat baffled by their appearance in such a young rum which has been aged in a bourbon cask. The rum also contains more familiar strong flavours of brown sugar, spicy cinnamon, and even perhaps a little tobacco and leather…”

You may read the full review here: