The nose is immediately unusual, with overtones of banana, caramel sauce, vanilla, and almonds — all the makings of a lovely banana split. That banana is particularly present on the palate, where it finds a complement in chocolate, more almond, some light coconut milk notes, and lengthy, lingering, creamy vanilla with just a touch of cinnamon and nutmeg on it. But if you’re expecting another fistful of cloves and cinnamon, think again. Here’s how Bumbu actually comes across. What Bumbu doesn’t tell us is what spices are used to flavor the rum. Only this is known: “Using the same all-natural native spices and no artificial colors or flavors, our rum is an authentic revival of this piece of Caribbean history, distilled in small batches and blended by hand.” Bumbu Rum gets its name from the 17th-century sailors that the once ruled the seas. Their drink of choice was a spiced concoction named affectionately "Bumbu," which was made using ingredients acquired over the course of their travels. It’s overly sweet. Sure many dark rums, especially spiced rums, are sweetened a little to accent their complex flavours, but this is well beyond any regular rum sweetening. It’s better qualified as a liqueur.

As spiced rums go, it’s one of the most unique expressions I’ve ever encountered — decidedly light on the “spice” notes, which results in a softer, more thoughtful rendition of the classic spirit. Ultimately, it feels like it is built to drink more like a dessert, and less like a rough-and-tumble pirate grog. Without those harsh notes of dried spices, Bumbu lets a more natural, sweeter, fruitier, and elegant spirit to emerge. Who knew? Spiced rum tends to follow a pretty well-worn path. But Bumbu is something quite different, and well worth exploring. The modern take on this Carribean elixir consists of spices and sugarcane sourced from eight countries including Barbados, Belize, Brazil, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guyana, and Honduras. Bottled at 35% ABV, this unique spirit is a Triple Gold Medal winner at the Los Angeles International Spirits Competition.