The range of rums from Panama is enriched with a new expression, with an aged rum aged 15 years in ex-Bourbon barrels. A new devilishly good juice.
In the world of spirits, we always talk about the angels’ share, i.e. the rate of evaporation of alcohol during aging. But not of the devil’s share, which preserves the most precious. Yet that’s what inspired Marco Savio when he created his rum brand.
“The idea for The Demon’s Share came to me while I was walking around a fair back home in Italy,” he says. He saw an advertisement for a whiskey brand that focused on this famous angel’s share. “I thought, ‘I’m not an angel, I’m a devil! The Demon’s Share had just been born.
Born In Panama
To begin with, Marco Savio goes to Panama. Why this choice? “That’s where my first rums came from, and it is the origin of my first rums and it is in the Panama Canal that our demon was born and that its landmark is located. It must be said that since the 1990s, Marco Savio has been passionate about the world of rum, thanks to his Cuban fiancée who introduced him to its subtleties.
The couple then began their adventures in the world of rum in Panama, working with a Cuban cellar master, but also elaborated some vintages in Guatemala in partnership with the Botran distillery.
But in Panama, the sugar tradition is anchored in the life of the country with more than 1200 hectares of sugar cane dedicated to the elaboration of rum, in majority on volcanic grounds. And the devil’s share is smaller there than elsewhere with an evaporation of about 10% due to the tropical climate.
The adventure of The Demon’s Share began with El Oro del Diablo, a spiced rum, lightly flavoured with notes of orange and cinnamon, made from molasses rum, distilled in column stills, then aged for three years in American oak barrels.
Since then, the range has been enriched with a six-year spiced rum, La Reserva del Diablo, but above all with an aged rum, La Recompensa del Tiempo, aged for twelve years in American white oak barrels.
A devil with a strong character
And, new, A rum aged fifteen years in ex-bourbon barrels, Reserva de Bodega. This long time and the tropical climate of Panama, allowed the molasses rum to build a strong character.
Luscious and well-balanced, this old rum displays treasures of seduction with aromas of tobacco leaves, dried vanilla and sweet spices. Ample and voluminous in the mouth, we find subtle notes of vanilla, a perfectly controlled woody taste, before a round finish with notes of orange marmalade without forgetting a suave chocolate touch.
“Each demon has its own personality and therefore its own elixir,” adds Marco Savio. If the three-year-old is clearly dedicated to mixology and marketed in supermarkets, the other references, present in wine shops, will delight the tasters of pure rum. “Marco Savio has developed a real expertise in blending,” acknowledges Adrien Agrandi, head of The Demon’s Share at Dugas (which distributes the brand).
But the brand knows not to take itself seriously and The Demon’s Share intends to simplify the tasting of old rums and attract new consumers to this category by de-demonizing it.” Well, in a manner of speaking.