EARLIER this summer, we tried a new rum from the Bahamas: John Watling’s.

Produced at the historic Buena Vista estate in Nassau, the company seems intent on making a high-quality rum — not simply a tourist attraction.

And the early results were good — we tried the Amber variety, which is aged for up to three years, and called it a “very, very solid rum.”

What we didn’t try was the distillery’s top-shelf stuff — John Watling’s Buena Vista Rum.

That changed, however, on a recent trip to the Bahamas, where we obtained a bottle.

The Buena Vista rum is distilled in a copper pot still and, like the Amber rum, is coconut charcoal filtered. It’s aged in oak barrels for up to five years.

The Buena Vista has a very dark amber colour, with a sweet aroma of caramel, with a hint of coconut.

Its flavour profile is dominated by caramel, oak, cocoa, coconut, candied fruits, wafer and a slightly nutty character.

The finish is very smooth.

The verdict? This is a serious rum, for serious rum enthusiasts — it’s a rum of which John Watling’s and the Bahamas can be very, very proud.

– CJ