Exposición Panamá-Pacific Rum is a Spanish-style molasses-derived rum made at the San Carlos distillery in the Provincia de Herrera region of Panamá. Panamá’s year-round hot and humid climate of an average 35° C (95° F) is the perfect environment for our rum to mature under the careful supervision of our always-attentive quality control team. We bottle no rum until it has entirely achieved the stated age… Panamá-Pacific’s age statement reflects the youngest rum in the blend, not just a portion of it.
Our rum production begins in Panama's interior, in Provincia de Herrera, where we harvest our sugarcane during its optimal maturity between the months of January and May. Once harvested, we extract the sugarcane’s succulent juices within a short twelve-hour window in order to retain their bright, fresh sweetness. The cane juice is then evaporated into a rich, delicious molasses, to which we add yeasts extracted from pineapples to ferment the sugars into a low-alcohol mash which will then be strengthened through distillation.
In keeping with early rum production traditions originally applied in Cuba, we then distill the fermented molasses in our historic copper Coffey column still to a slightly-lower proof than is normally achieved in other distilleries, creating our rum’s signature richer, fuller flavor and character. After distillation, we initially rest the rum in Kentucky bourbon casks for three years. Samples of that rum are then carefully reviewed to determine integrity for a potentially-longer aging regimen, or are charcoal-filtered for our "carta blanca" style blanco expression. Those rum selections deemed worthy of an extended maturation are then transferred into exhausted Tennessee and Canadian whiskey barrels, whose oak flavors are more depleted, for a gentle imparting of vanilla, caramel and butterscotch notes without over-dominating our balanced essential flavors. During this extended aging, the rum rests in its casks until optimal flavors are attained.
“Very unique; a distinctive blend of molasses and caramel with the perfect touch of funk behind the tropical fruit, tobacco and lingering candied nuances. Stunning purity.”
— Wyatt Peabody, spirits journalist
“Broad sweetness swiftly gives way to a spicy blend of black pepper, ginger and a touch of prune."
— Whisky Advocate
“These rums are absurdly good.”
— Dave Catania, Spirits Evangelist, Burke Distributing
“100% about the quality of the cane… can easily turn the evening into a metaphysical exercise."
— Jack Orion, Rum Ratings