Pampero Especial

42 —

rum • venezuela

Going back to basics here and doing some of the basic rums that I never tried when I came to the rum world. Pampero Especial is industrial scale Venezuelan aged rum at basement proof, aged for two to four years in Bourbon barrels and bottled in Italy. It seems to be mostly considered bottom-shelf stuff for use in cocktails and such. Lucky me.

I tasted and rated this blind, only information I had beforehand was that it was rum.

Distiller: Industrias Pampero, C.A. (Diageo)
ABV: 40%
Age: NAS (marketing material suggests 2-4 years)
Cask type: Undisclosed (marketing material suggests Bourbon casks)
Source: Pour at Statsraaden Bar, Bergen, Norway
Setting: Blind

Nose: Golden syrup, a light sherry, green grapes, lychee. Sweet sugary golden syrup.
Palate: Very light, almost not there at all. A growing cedar note.
Finish: A particularly mild wood note, with a fudgy toffee thread. Very reserved.
Overall: Syrup/sugar forward, and barely like drinking spirits at all. Just disappears on the palate. Unfortunately, when it disappears it takes all the interest away with it. This is not a great sipper, but it would probably be great for someone who doesn’t like spirits.
Rank: 3