Noble Beast – Dictador 12 Years

Sometimes spirit bottlings get an update. However, most of the time the ABV is lowered or other measures to lower the costs are taken. Nevertheless, there are exceptions to that rule. In case of the Dictador 12 Years Rum, the production was adapted to the taste of rum connoisseurs. So, I was eager to try out the new bottling and of course, I also came up with a cocktail for it.

The old Dictador 12 Years bottling was distilled solely on column stills. Yet, the new one uses a stainless-steel column still as well as a copper pot still. On top of that, the aged rum now is free of sugar and colouring. What remained the same is the rum’s base of sugarcane honey. After distillation, the rum is aged first in used Bourbon barrels and then in ex-Sherry-casks. In the end, the Dictador 12 Years has an ABV of 40 %.

Mellow spices and nuts

The Dictador starts with typical sugarcane notes. Apart from that, you can taste a lot of spices in the form of nutmeg, macis and cloves. On top of that, the flavour also delivers some coconut and walnut notes. The Diactador Rum is pleasant without being sweet and will also please rum novices. Furthermore, I bet that this makes an excellent Rum Old-Fashioned.

Pretty simple tropical drink

Well, yes you need a second rum and bitters for this cocktail using the Dictador 12 Years. The basis for this cocktail is a classic tropical cocktail with its combination of grapefruit and cinnamon syrup. For the sour part, I combined lemon and lime juice to give the drink a bit more complexity. Furthermore, I chose to top the drink off with Peychaud’s Bitters. I used the barrel aged version here, but the regular bitters will work fine here, too.

Noble Beast:
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3 cl Dictador 12 Years Rum
3 cl Clement 10 Years Rum
2,25 cl Grapefruit Juice
0,75 cl Lime Juice
0,75 cl Lemon Juice
1,5 cl Cinnamon Syrup
Top off with 3 Dashes Peychaud’s Barrel Aged Bitters
Shake – strain – chilled Highball glass over crushed ice – top off with bitters;
Garnish: Two Citrus Wheels;
Song: Andrew Bird – Section 8 City;

I suggest you try the “Noble Beast” first without stirring it. This way you get a great hit of bitters first and the soothing cold of the rum cocktail next. Additionally, as expected the cinnamon and the two rums work together perfectly. All in all, this is a great tropical rum drink with two great rums. This is the right drink to enjoy on a hot summer evening on your patio or balcony.

*The fact that I received a product reviewed in this article for free, did not – in any way – influence the rating of said product. The Dictador Rum was provided by Kirsch Whisky and the Clement by Ferrand Spirits.

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