Dictador 2003 Parrafo 1 19 Year Old #ExP-5479

The Destilería Colombiana was established in 1913 by Don Julio Arango y Parra and today it is still run by members of his family. The distillery’s flagship brand, Dictador, is named after Severo Arango y Ferro, nicknamed "El Dictador," for the heavy hand with which oversaw trade between Spain and its colonies in the 18th century. Don Julio was one of his descendants. The distillery operates both copper pot stills as well as a stainless steel six-column continuous still, and uses a wash made from sugarcane “honey.” This is the product of the first stage in molasses production, which produces a syrup by boiling off the water from freshly pressed cane juice. This provides a lighter distillate than traditional molasses.

One of the big players of the Rum world and a well established luxury brand, Dictador is still shrouded in mystery. Perhaps owing to a misalignment of expectations these Best of bottlings are a the subject of a lot of spilt digital ink. Consensus seems to be that the vintage and any age statement refer to the Solera they are drawn from and that the liquid also includes some younger spirit from more recent vintages, rather than being a pure single vintage. Regardless of the exact make up of the liquid, Dictador is none the less an incredibly popular brand and this is one of their premium expressions, a great chance to see what Destileria Colombiana is all about.

One of 900 bottles, this is a 2003 vintage, bottled in 2022.