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.

For those of you that now know me, you will appreciate that I tell it as it is. I do not tip-toe around big brand names showering them with fancy descriptive adjectives. This is why you will never see my comments in the big global spirits magazines. I am a non-conformist in the eyes of the big name spirits brands. However, I do believe in giving high praise when it is due. Give me an excellent spirit and I will write glowingly about it in no uncertain terms.

Now, to the point of this post. Yesterday I was in the grocery store here in Panama City. My wife wanted some Gin and the selections were sparse at best. Hard liquor is not a big seller here in this hot climate. As I was reaching for the Gordon’s Gin on the top shelf, I spied on the bottom shelf a bottle of Botanist Gin. Sampling this Gin has been on my list of to-do’s for a while now, so I thought – why not here, why not now?

We quickly rushed back to our rented apartment and poured ourselves each a wee dram, straight up at room temperature intent on savoring the bouquet of 22 botanicals that comprise this product. Shockingly…my senses were assaulted with the overwhelming aroma of solventy, feinty alcohol. No juniper-forward notes. No hints of citrus in the background. Just plain un-appealing to our palates.

I then tried adding some Tonic (Schwepp’s to be exact), thinking that maybe a G&T was the way to enjoy the Botanist. I thought maybe the Tonic would tease out the flavors of some of the 22 botanicals. No such luck. I now had a G&T with notes of feinty alcohol. My wife’s first reaction was to suggest that maybe this bottle had been distilled and prepared under licence by a distillery in Central America who had botched the recipe. I quick look at the bottle showed that no – this was a product of Scotland.

I am seriously under-whelmed with the Botanist. What’s more – I am perplexed because I have had people in the 5-day Distilling Workshops that have spoken of the Botanist Gin in hushed reverence like they were describing their admiration for the Queen of England.

In all fairness, I will again sample the Botanist somewhere in Canada. For here and now, I am going to hold to the idea that this was in some way a bad batch. I will keep you apprised…..

Cheers