Pampero Aniversario Rum (700ml)

"...takes you on a trip into desserts galore...seductive and delicious". - drinkhacker.com

As well as being the spiritual home to the famous rum-based medicinal bitters, Venezuela makes some seriously good barrel-aged golden and dark rums. Pampero Aniversario was first crafted in 1963 to commemorate the company’s 25th anniversary. Triple distilled via a continuous still, the blend is composed of approximately four to six year old rums aged in both whisky and sherry barrels. If it sounds young by world standards, keep in mind spirits mature roughly three times faster in the Amazonian climate than regions like Scotland or France. It shows in Aniversario's fabulous deep copper colour and stunning aromatics. You get a superb medley of praline, milk chocolate, dates, honeycomb and raw sugar that follows through with a graceful, silky delivery suggesting dates, honey and vanilla custard and a warming, spicy, new leather, pipe tobacco and honeycomb aftertaste. All up: a gorgeous middleweight style showcasing pitch perfect sweet-dry balance. The packaging is a plus. 40% Alc./Vol.

Other reviews... Deep mahogany. Toffee, baked apple, walnut, glue, and tobacco aromas. Rich entry leads to a dryish medium-full body with treacle, spice, suede flavors. Finishes with a long rich fade of charred oak, spice flavors. A richly styled sipper with great balance. Celebrate the return of a classic rum. 93 points (Exceptional) - tastings.com

Gold Medal - 2020 San Francisco World Spirit Competition

...Pampero Aniversario is a Venezuelan rum, and one of only a handful I’ve ever tried. And like its comrade Santa Teresa 1796, it is exemplary.

Chocolate brown in color, the rum exudes nuttiness and dark, bittersweet chocolate on the nose. Fresh sugar coats the tongue as you taste, and Pampero takes you on a trip into desserts galore on the body — chocolate mousse, creme brulee, caramel pudding. The finish keeps going and going. Wood is there, but it’s sedate and stays in the background. The rum may look impossibly dark, but it actually spends only 4 to 6 years in old bourbon barrels. Really quite seductive and delicious, and at a price that’s more than fair for the quality you get. It also comes in a hard-to-miss leather satchel (it’s not a purse!), which makes it an unmistakable gift. - drinkhacker.com

...very smooth and easy to sip.  There is little by way of any alcohol burn and it really does coat the taste buds with rich deep flavours.  It reminds me very much of a good high cocoa content dark chocolate.  Sweet yet slightly bitter with occasional hints of fruity flavour.  The aged spirit gives a little smokiness and a slightly woody or perhaps leathery finish.  In Dave Brooms book “Rum” he refers to one rum as “like old leather armchairs”.  I kind of get that kind of vibe with this rum. To try and describe this rum stylistically is very difficult.  The best I can really go with is a kind of beefed up Cuban/Spanish style rum.  It has that sort of oily/smokey twang but it also has a big slab of rich flavour which is often so lacking in the lighter Cuban style.  It’s not a million miles from Ron Zacapa.  For the record I do not consider Ron Zacapa to be anywhere near as sweet as many make out.  Maybe a few years ago it was but now, no not for me. As a nostalgia trip I’m going to mix the rum with ice and cola and maybe a squeeze of lime.  Yes its very nice.  I now know though that it is better on its own! No need to mix this little beauty. - thefatrumpirate.com

5 stars - diffordsguide.com