Ron Malteco Reserva del Fundador 20 YO 40% Vol. 0,7l in Giftbox

Malteco is a rum from Panama, produced in the same distillery as Zacapa and Botran rums. It has spent 20 years in oak barrels at an altitude of over 2000 metres.

Nico's (from Rhum Attitude) tasting notes

The nose opens immediately with a pleasant caramel and vanilla flavour, for a pastry aspect with touches of marzipan. All this gives a rather sweet and syrupy impression, then one is surprised to find a good dose of cane juice in this molasses rum (honey?).
The aeration allows the rum to expand, to offer us a rich and brilliant honey. It enhances the woody flavour, which then seems bright and golden, as if lacquered with honey. The caramelised nuts give even more body and depth, with brown sugar, it is almost like a Demerara rum. The dried fruits allow us to vary the pleasures, we have grapes and apricots for example. Then the pastry profile comes in again, with vanilla marzipan. Finally, there are some slightly oxidised wine notes, like an old Sauternes or a Muscat.

The attack in the mouth is soft, fruity, ripe and exotic. The round and candied character does not prevent a pleasant and tasty complexity that envelops the taste buds well. It is quite sweet, but seductive, with honey and toasted wood. There are some heavier and deeper aromas as well as a little rancio (notes of oxidation as in a yellow wine for example, which gives aromas of nutty breakage among others).

The finish has a salty feel to it, allowing the butterscotch exotic fruit flavours to continue. The famous little rancio remains on the palate at the very end of the tasting.

"The candied side of this rum gives it the appearance of an old liqueur..."