Last Updated on March 9, 2024

A taste of Panama

Award-winning Panamanian rum brand Ron Abuelo is celebrating the launch of Three Angels, their super-premium aged rum with an intense flavour profile. I couldn’t resist an invitation to Carousel in Marylebone to enjoy a “first sip” of this intriguing new rum – we were going to be the first people in Europe to try Three Angels. We were also treated to a delicious pairing menu designed and cooked by Mario Castrellón from Panama City’s Maito, recently awarded sixth place on Latin America’s 50 Best Restaurants list.

Three Angels is an evolution of Ron Abuelo’s Two Oaks, which won a Double Gold Medal at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition in 2022. Both are single-estate, double-matured 12-year-old rums, aged in American white oak ex-bourbon barrels to start with and then finished in extra-charred barrels. The idea for Three Angels came after the Ron Abuelo team tasted a bottle of Two Oaks taken purely from the top row of casks and experienced an exciting new combination of aromas and flavour. They knew they had something special on their hands. Inspiration for the name of the new rum comes from the fact that the temperature in the top racks is so high that the “angel’s share” (the amount of liquid that evaporates during ageing) is increased to 15%. The result is a potent alcohol percentage of 43% and a dark, rich rum.

Chef Mario Castrellón and Brand Ambassador Cristobal Srokowski talked us through the “sensorial journey” we were about to go on. In fact, we’d already started with a welcome cocktail, an easy-drinking highball concocted from  Two Oaks, Borghetti coffee liqueur, tonic water and lime. I love a long, tall drink and this was an excellent introduction to Ron Abuelo’s rum. Alongside it, we had canapes and our first taste of Mario’s cooking – Hojaldra blue cheese and onions cooked in rum on a fried bread that is a common breakfast food in Panama and fried chicken wings with a bbq sauce made with the Two Oaks.

We moved on to our first sip of the Three Angels. Cristobal wanted us to try it neat and gave us detailed instructions about how to get the best out of tasting a premium aged rum. The first stage is oxygenating it to take out the tannins and release the rest of the aromas. We were told to blow out the alcohol and then hold the glass horizontally to smell the upper part and side to prepare the palette for the coming hit of 43% alcohol. Finally, we took a sip, watering it down with saliva and then waiting for 30 to 40 seconds. Cristobal warned us the experience would be like Two Oaks on steroids. While Two Oaks might be described as butterscotch and honey, Three Angels has a much sweeter honey sensation, combined with maple syrup overtones and smokiness.

The duck ceviche flavoured with star anise and served with perfect little chunks of pineapple was spicy and fresh. Its lightness made it a good foil for neat Three Angels. 

Next, it was on to our first Three Angels cocktail plus a lovely meaty main course. The Perfect Serve combines the rum with dehydrated apricot and nutmeg zest. I found the result pretty sharp and perhaps too intense on the first tasting. And not sweet enough for this self-confessed fan of sweet rum cocktails like the Mojito and Pina Colada. However, once paired with Mario’s slow-cooked short rib beef with pressed potato and watercress served with a Three Angels sauce, the Perfect Serve made much more sense.

The final dish of this splendid meal was the Geisha Coffee Three Ways. For those who don’t know, Geisha is famous for being the most expensive coffee in the world. I have to admit I love anything coffee flavoured, so I was in heaven presented with this rich, extremely creamy pudding. 

We finished off with the appropriately named Dark Angel, a rum-based variation on an Old-Fashioned. This after-dinner cocktail combines Three Angels with a heady mix of plum jam, chocolate bitters, maple syrup and pink grapefruit peel. Now, this was lovely and sweet, a great way to round off an afternoon of fine rum and fine dining.

Ron Abuelo’s Three Angels will be stocked in the United Kingdom by Master of Malt (www.masterofmalt.com) and Hedonism (hedonism.co.uk) from early 2023 and will also be on sale in Duty-Free shops in Europe and Panama later in the year.

We were guests of Ron Abuelo in this event hosted at Carousel London