I’ve been learning quite a bit about Central American tobacco lately, as I try to quickly educate myself on cigars ahead of the big PCA show in Las Vegas next week. Just about everything I’m reading points to a modern renaissance in Nicaragua, especially in the region of Estelí where a number of top producers are growing tobacco right now. It’s a hot topic among industry professionals right now.
Interestingly enough, another industry professional recently spoke to me about the incredible quality coming out of Nicaragua, but he wasn’t talking about tobacco; he was talking about rum.
Karthik Sudhir, the man behind the incredible new Ron Izalco rums, is passionate about the rising quality of Nicaraguan rum, especially as a base for his ten and fifteen year old Central American rum blends. “The structure of Nicaraguan rum is what makes it unique,” he said during a visit to Mission earlier this year, touting the virtues of Panamanian rum and Guatemalan rum as well, each adding richness to the blend.
While I’ve been completely smitten with Karthik’s 10 year old Ron Izalco as a cigar rum, with its sweeter profile and rounder texture, I can safely say that I have never tasted anything quite like the new 15 year old 55.3% ABV expression. I’ve been doing my best to stay patient while Karthik put together a new batch (as it’s been sold out for months), but since first tasting it back in April it’s all I’ve been able to think about—especially given my growing interest in cigars.
If you want to get geeky about Central American rum, Karthik will go deep into the fertile, volcanic soils where the sugarcane is grown, how the heat leads to a greater evaporation, and all the other details that make these spirits unique. But if you want tangible proof that Karthik is on to something special, look no further than the incredible 15 year old Ron Izalco: without a doubt the most complex and mind-bending spirit I’ve tasted in 2021.
Comprised of rums from five different Central American countries—Nicaragua, Panama, Guatemala, Costa Rica, and Guyana—each matured for at least 15 years in ex-Bourbon barrels, the nose is a whirlwind of tobacco, dried fruits, scorched earth, and molasses, with some brighter aromatic notes bringing up the rear. The palate carries some sweetness, but it’s far drier than the 10 year and it quickly dissipates under the intensity of both the proof and the flavor.
There are no additives in this rum, nor is there any sugar—or mercy! Take off the rum training wheels and throw them across the room. In fact, throw them out the window, into the garbage, and bring the garbage can out to the street. This is not a spirit for beginners or for people who like to sip on something sweet from time to time. The Ron Izalco 15 year is bold, robust, and incredibly earthy, but it’s also harmonious, balanced, and completely in sync. It starts with richness and dried fruits, but halfway it transforms into something else entirely. It quickly turns into a big mouthful of dried tobacco, bitter herbs, and cigar smoke. The finish is as dry as it is intoxicating, leaving your mouth wondering: what in the hell just happened?
That’s when you go in for another sip. And another. And another. It’s a transformation that you have to experience to really understand. I’m obsessed with it.
Karthik has described the 15 year old as something more for agricole and pot still fans due to its intensity, but it’s not at all along those lines in terms of flavor. There’s no grassiness, no funkiness, and none of the high-toned ester notes you get from Jamaican pot still rums like Hamden. The Izalco 15 is more akin to a peated Sherry butt Scotch, or a super earthy Bourbon, where the smoke ends up more like ash, or the wood comes through as damp and herbaceous. You still get that little smack of caramel and molasses on the front and the finish, but it’s really just a canvass for the earthier elements.
As you might imagine, I took it for a test spin yesterday evening with some fine Nicaraguan tobacco from A.J. Fernandez: the Upmann Nicaraguan Toro, which got completely obliterated by the intensity of the rum. You need to match like with like, so I’m gonna have to try this again with the Room 101 10th Anniversary or the Diesel Crucible, both of which have a little more grit. Or I may even go the Tatuaje route.
I’m excited to find the right pairing because I know once I hit that right balance, it’s going to result in something truly special.
-David Driscoll