Pampero Especial Ron Aneje & Pampero Anniversario reviews

[JaRiMi]

Pampero Especial Ron Anejo

Nose: Sweet but pleasant, easygoing, almost overly vanilla-infused, molasses and caramel, sugar and banana.

Palate: Very smooth and sweet, drying quite quickly on the palate. Roasted caramel along with dried sultanas, easygoing again. Sweet toffee.

Aftertaste: Pleasantly drying flavours of - rum? - dried sultanas with a hint of banana flakes, roasted sugary notes. I detect a touch of oak at the very end.

Comments: I bought this bottle from a small local supermarket in Italy; at a price of 10 euros / bottle I simply could not let it pass by. I had very limited expectations for this mass-market product, but whaddaya know, it turned out to be a rather well-made rum after all. Price vs. quality: Fantastic. Sure, you can taste a certain "simplicity" in the flavour profile, and the fact that caramel and sweetness masks and rounds up the flavour a lot. Still, I have bought many a bottle of rum for far higher prices, with far less pleasant a taste. At this price the product offers much.

http://www.royalmilewhiskies.com/produc ... 0000001579

Pampero Anniversario

Nose: Much dryer, with some oakiness; with definite finesse and age, more restrained. Slightly chemical burned sugar, dried sultanas and prunes in liqueur-style. Really doesn't jump out like the previous one.

Palate: Dry, smooth and warming; some plum, raisiny notes, rich and not unlike a well-aged brandy, aprt from having less fruity notes maybe. Oak at the end - very dry compared to previous, far more subtle and classy. A touch of vanilla, but in a subtle way again. A right lovely rum!

Aftertaste: Again dry, but longer than the previous. Warming rum notes, oak, acacia honey, tropical fruits. This is rather nice.

Comments: In comparison to the previous, age does show here in oaky notes but also the blending has been done with far more skill, and without a drowning dose of caramel. Real finesse, a sipping rum for sure. I personally like the lack of super-strong vanilla (which is there, but not in an overpowering amount). I would not use this one as a mixer, it's got cognac-like qualities that need to be enjoyed "as is".

http://www.r2mshop.com/shop/spirits/rum ... rsario.asp

[Count Silvio]

How would you say it ranks against Pampero Aniversario or Pampero 1938 if you have tried that? I have only tried the Aniversario from the Pampero series but the 1938 seems like the next one I should get and now this. Spirituosen Grosshandel has all three for sale at quite affordable prices, 1938 being only a few euros more expensive.

[JaRiMi]

I added Pampero Anniversario to the review, to highlight the differences. Again, for 10 euros a bottle, the clearly younger mass-market bottling of Especial is a great buy, but in quality and finesse it is no match to Pampero anniversario.