In 2020, Nicaraguan rum distillery Flor De Cana will celebrate 130 years of existence, marking five generations’ involvement in the rum since its founding back in 1890. To mark the occasion, Flor de Cana will release V Generaciones, a 30-year-old single barrel rum that was distilled back in 1988. The liquid comes in a beautiful decanter topped with a bottle cap made from volcanic rock and is housed in a black leather case. Only 411 bottles will be released this September with a retail price of $1,200.
Flor de Cana is located at the base of San Cristobal, an active volcano in the northwest corner of Nicaragua. The rum has no sugar, “accelerants, or unnatural additives,” according to the distillery, and is aged in ex-bourbon barrels that are sealed with plantain leaves to help reduce the angel’s share, or evaporation, that is accelerated by the region’s tropical climate. The brand is focused on sustainability and claims to use 100% renewable energy to power the distillery.
Flor de Cana has gotten some flack in recent years for the numbers it puts on its bottles. Expressions are labeled with a 12 or 18, for example, which reasonably leads consumers to believe these are age statements telling you how old the rum is, like a bottle of single malt scotch. These numbers, however, should be looked at as average ages of the blend of rums in the bottle, and this could be made a lot clearer on the label. According to press representation for the rum, “each Flor de Cana product is a blend of rums of similar ages carefully selected to achieve the age profile indicated in the label.” In the case of V Generaciones, however, the “30 Years” on the label is a real age statement — this rum was aged for three decades before bottling.
This is an extremely expensive bottle of rum, but it’s also quite delicious. It doesn’t read as overly oaky with an abundance of tannins, which can happen from too many years spent in a barrel. Instead, there are deep notes of tropical fruit and cocoa on the nose, with swirls of burnt brown sugar and a bit of cherry and orange on the palate. Considering the extremely limited supply of this rum, you might not run into it any time soon. But if you find it, and have the cash, you won’t be disappointed.
