Recently when reading Dave Broom’s Rum-The Manual book, I noticed that he had a profile for Abuelo Rum from Panama. Funny how things happen – I am in Panama at the moment and I am seeing small bottles of Abuelo Rum (Anejo) in stores for $2.

How good can $2 Rum be? Well… surprise, surprise. This is some of the most wonderful Rum I have had in a good long time. It puts to shame the products from the big name, global purveyors of Rum. The brand is owned by a company called Varela Hermanos, S.A. Its history dates back to 1908, when Don José Varela Blanco, a young Spanish immigrant, established himself in the town of Pesé in the central part of Panama. He built a sugar mill, the first such mill in the recently formed Republic of Panamá.

The rest as they say, is history. Today, Abuelo has its cheaper $2 anejo version, plus a 7 year old expression plus a 12 year old expression and now a release that is blended with 30 year old rum.

If what I am tasting in the cheaper anejo stuff carries forward into the longer aged 7 and 12 year olds, I think it is time to go shopping for another suitcase. A goodly amount of Abuelo is coming back to Canada with me.