Review: Shakara Rum 12 Years Old

Rum from Thailand is becoming increasingly commonplace, with brands like Phraya and especially Bumbu making significant waves. Shakara — not Shakira — is made from local molasses, column-distilled, and aged in bourbon barrels for 12 years. High temperature, high humidity. No additives, including sugar.

Immediately reminiscent of the tropics, there’s plenty of Asian influence from the get-go, with aromatic notes of coriander and cardamom backed up by coffee and tea leaf. Later: dark chocolate, toasted coconut, and slightly sulfury molasses.

The palate balances sweetness and more dusky, earthy notes, bouncing between the two sides of the coin. A grassy, slightly vegetal quality dominates alongside a slightly smoky, nutty quality that builds with time on the tongue. More coconut — sweeter here — quickly builds alongside a slightly burnt caramel quality, eventually making its way to a sharper note of petrol, creosote, and burnt matches. A bit gravelly and dusty on the lengthy finish, though a substantial dosing of brown sugar clings to the proceedings.

Unique and expressive, Shakara is unlike any rum you’ve experienced before, blending Asian with Caribbean tastes into a single, cohesive encounter. Definitely a rum for the connoisseur who thinks they’ve seen (and tasted) it all.

91.4 proof.

A- / $43 (700ml) / shakara-rum.com

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