Ron Centenario Fundacion 20 yrs Rum 750ml

Ron Centenario Fundación 20 Years is produced by Centenario Internacional S.A., a Costa Rican company that traces its roots back to an earlier operation known as Seagram de Costa Rica before adopting its current name in 2002. Though the company had been distilling rum domestically for decades, Ron Centenario stayed a Costa Rican secret for years, not appearing in export markets until 2007. Today the brand is one of the country's best known rum houses, built around Costa Rica's tropical growing conditions and volcanic soil.

The rum starts with sugarcane grown in Costa Rica's fertile lowlands, harvested by hand and pressed for its juice before being converted into molasses for fermentation and distillation. The resulting spirit is aged in American white oak barrels previously used for bourbon, following the solera system, in which younger rums are gradually blended through a fractional series of barrels containing progressively older stock. In the Fundación 20 bottling, the oldest rum in that blend has rested for two full decades.

The nose leads with caramel, vanilla, and toasted oak, joined by black pepper, cinnamon, and a whisper of ripe fruit. On the palate, rich cocoa and toffee build over the caramel base, giving way to a warm, lightly spiced finish with notes of toasted almond and a touch of tobacco.