RUM NATION - Guatemala XO - Carafe 20th Anniversary - 40%
Fabio Rossi was born in 1961 and graduated in oenology in Conegliano, Italy. His father Mario Jr., who started selling wines and liqueurs in 1956, was the first importer of Laphroaig in Italy, then of brands like Rhum Barbancourt, several Bordeaux Chateaux and champagnes such as Salon. Fabio was born and raised among bottles of fine wines and spirits, until he began his own personal selections of whiskies and rums. In 1990, Fabio traveled to Scotland to visit distilleries, sample casks and make business deals: on some visits to whisky warehouses, he noticed several old casks of British Guiana and Jamaican rums, stacked near Single Malts. He received advice and recommendations from Mr. Samaroli on the different styles of rum and instructions on how to take his first steps in this area. He therefore bought his first barrels and bottled them, and after bringing together a selection of the best rums from different countries under a new series, Rum Nation was born in 1999.
The philosophy behind the production, selection and aging is to buy young rum and let it mature locally for 6 to 8 years, before being brought to Europe for further aging. The labeling of rums is not with the names of the distilleries but with the areas of origin.
This edition produced for Rum Nation's 20th anniversary is a selection of some of the finest casks. Produced from sugar cane molasses, the rum is column-distilled and then aged for at least 4 years in ex-Bourbon barrels, in the tropical region of Rio Hondo in Guatemala. It is matured for an additional 16 months in Oloroso and Pedro Ximenez barrels in a cool, mountainous region of Italy.
