Dictador 2 Masters Ximénez-Spínola 1976 Edition
A 1976 Colombian rum from Dictador, finished in Jerez at Ximénez-Spinola
Rum is hardly ever covered here on SherryNotes, but in this case there is a good reason to make an exception. Dictador, the premium Colombian rum brand, has just announced a special collaboration project with bodegas Ximénez-Spinola.
Rums are sometimes ‘finished’ in barrels that have been seasoned with wines or other spirits (a practice taken over from the whisky world). In this case Dictador’s Master Blender Hernan Parra selected a 1976 vintage rum (some of the oldest stock in their warehouses) which had been aged for 45 years in traditional American oak casks. It left Colombia to be re-casked into Pedro Ximénez sherry barrels in Jerez, for a 13-month rounding process. Both companies have a long story and this project brings together their craftmanship.
The 2 Masters initiative was conveived by Dictador in 2015 and already included partnerships with Hardy cognac, Glenfarclas distillery, Champagne Lecrec Briant, Laballe armagnac and Royal Tokaij among others. In 2021 they’ve also launched a Niepoort edition. Visit the 2 Masters website for more information.
This limited edition comes with 11 layers of protection in order to guarantee its authenticity, including gold paint with UV glowing effect, microtext, typographical numbering and holistic cryptographic technology (whatever that may be). It comes in a safety packaging made of armoured glass using fingerprint technology for unlocking. The bodyguard is outside smoking a cigarette, so here’s my chance to have a sip…
Dictador 2 Masters – 1976 Ximénez-Spinola Edition (46,4%, OB 2021, 390 btl.)
Nose:rich and rather phenolic, with lovely coffee notes, fig syrup, burnt cake and some Muscovado sweetness. Cigar leaves. Hazelnut caramel and dark chocolate. Hints of tar liqueur and liquorice. There’s a whiff of overripe banana esters, a floral note (rose petals) and polished exotic wood as well.
Mouth: very creamy and sweet, with a lot of maple syrup and treacle toffee, or a heavily infused black tea with a few too many sugar cubes. Prunes and chocolate ganache. Then some herbal notes set in, going towards cough bonbons, Marmite and glazed meat with a herbal sauce. Coffee pralines. The floral woody note of the nose returns, now becoming rather perfumed (and less integrated, I must add). The finish is not that long, still a bit perfumed, with liquorice and chocolate, as well as earthy spice.
Availability: highly limited. Just 390 bottles with a suggested retail price of around € 960.
Summary: After the rich but elegant nose, the palate felt a bit too cloying for my taste, with an overdose of chocolate and syrupy sweetness taking away complexity on the palate. A very interesting project though, and this would definitely work as a dessert on its own, or with a good cigar.
4
Very good
About the Author
Ruben is a Certified Sherry Educator who fell in love with sherry some 25 years ago, but switched to a higher gear in 2013 and started writing about it. Lived in Madrid for a couple of years, now back in Belgium. I also run a whisky blog over at www.whiskynotes.be
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