Review: Flor de Caña 5 (Añejo Clasico)   (84.5/100)
a review by Chip Dykstra (Aka Arctic Wolf)
Revisited January 19, 2018

Flor de Caña has a history of rum production which is dated to 1890 at the San Antonio Sugar Mill, in Chichigalpa, Nicaragua. The company was founded by Francisco Alfredo Pellas and today, over 120 years later, the company is led headed by the fifth generation of the Pellas family. It has grown to be not only one of Central America’s leading brands of rum, it is also one of the most recognized rum brands in the world. According to the company website, all of the Flor de Caña rum is produced from molasses which is made from sugar cane harvested in fields adjacent to the distillery in Chichigalpa. This molasses is fermented and then distilled five times in a continuous column still. The resulting distillate is laid down to age in small American white oak barrels in traditional aging warehouses built without air conditioning in an undisturbed environment.

Flor de Caña 5 is a premium aged rum with the number 5 on the label representative of the average age of the rums in the blend with some variation in the actual age based upon blending to a consistent flavour profile. According to the folks at Flor de Caña this aged spirit is suitable for traditional cocktails or to be mixed with soda. As you will see from the review, I believe it also has sipping potential as well.

In the Bottle  4/5

The Flor de Caña 5 (Añejo Clasico) arrives in a medium tall rectangular bottle. These bottles are designed to allow companies to ship bottles more efficiently by packing more volume into a rectangular shipping case. As well as being ergonomic, the bottle is also designed to be functional. It fits easily on the bartender’s shelf, is easy to grab hold of, and is easy for that aforementioned bartender to pour into a glass or cocktail making the rum very accessible to the bar trade.

The label design does not contain a definitive age statement. As well the bottle closure is a metallic pressed on cap rather than the plastic twist cap. Pressed on metallic caps are inferior to plastic caps. They are subject to warping and easily lose their thread. Although I like the fresh look the bottle and label, I feel the inferior closure and the undefined age statement are slightly disappointing.

In the Glass 8.5/10

When I poured a sample of the Flor de Caña 5 (Añejo Clasico) into my glass, I noted that the rum displayed the colour of a spirit which has just began that turn from amber towards copper. When I tilted my glass and gave it a slow twirl, the resulting sheen on the inside of my glass was slightly thickened, and the crest dropped thickened leglets which moved slowly back into the rum. The initial scents represent a pleasing caramel scent rising up tainted with bits of tobacco and fine oak spices.

As the glass sits, the caramel and oak spice combine bringing me indications of toffee and baking spices (primarily nutmeg and vanilla with hints of cinnamon). I noticed bits or orange peel and marmalade, as well as a ribbon of corn whisky. A light musty grassiness winds through the rum, and I also noticed vague nutty accents which reminded me of almond and walnut.

In the Mouth 51/60

The Flor de Caña 5 is a light bodied ‘Spanish style’ rum with a clean dry mouth-feel. There is a little bitterness at the front of the delivery, however this dry bitterness is quickly chased away by a light butterscotch and vanilla sweetness. Peppery wood spices and orange peel mingle with the butterscotch sweetness and I also taste a touch of almond rounding out the flavour. The complexity I found on the nose has not translating completely to the rum across the palate, nevertheless I find the rum quite pleasant. With an ice-cube added to the glass, it is an acceptable sipper.

Having said that, I would suggest that I would be much more inclined to treat the new Flor de Caña 5 as a high-end mixer. To that end I reached for some cola and some lime and mixed myself a Cuba Libre (see recipe below). The result was (as expected) delicious. Flor de Caña rums have always been among my favourites as rum and cola mixers and this rum is no different. I also decided to mix a daiquiri style cocktail (see recipe below). Again the results (as expected) were very good.

In the Throat 12.5/15

A touch of maple appears just after the rum is swallowed. The light rum has a relatively clean finish with traces of butterscotch and fine oak spice mingling with dry grassy tobacco. The oak spices and the dry grassiness works very well in daiquiri style cocktails.

The Afterburn 8.5/10

The Flor de Caña 5 (Añejo Clasico) is a pleasant aged rum. I noticed subtle changes between this version and the age stated version I sampled a few years ago; however, I think it would be fair to say that these differences have not deterred my enjoyment. I certainly hope that this high quality is maintained going forward.

If you are interested in comparing more scores, here is a link to my other published Rum Reviews.

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Suggested Cocktails

Autumn Daiquiri

2 oz Flor de Caña 5 (Añejo Clasico)
1/2 oz Orange Curacao
3/4 oz fresh Lime Juice
3/4 oz fresh Lemon Juice
1 oz sugar syrup (1:1 ratio)
Ice
Lemon slice

Add the first five ingredients into a metal cocktail shaker with ice
Shake until the sides of the shaker frost
Strain into a cocktail glass
Add a Lemon Slice for garnish

Enjoy!

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