Diplomático Reserve Blanco Rum

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In a field dominated by industriale style rums, it's nice to do a sampling of an agricole style -- one made from sugar cane rather than molasses -- with obvious quality.

• Diplomático Reserve Blanco Rum

This ultra premium spirit was introduced to the global market last fall at RumFest in London. It has gotten excellent early notices, with gold medals in a variety of competitions that still value gold rather than awarding it simply to attract more paid entries.

Diplomático is made in Venezuela by Destilerias Unidas, which utilizes three pot stills and four column stills to produce nearly 50 different rum recipes. It also produces Cacique rum and is the major spirit producer for the Pampero blend.

Everything except this Diplomático Blanco is made from molasses. It is distilled from sugar cane four times, filtered five, and mellowed in white oak casks but catches none of the color from the wood.

The nose instantly offers up light floral notes with a vague promise of pineapple. On the palate we begin to notice elements of vanilla, cream and a touch of spice that is at once velvety and peppery.

The finish is long, warm and rich, with a tropical taste of coconut and banana. Excellent structure and layering, making it a fine sipping rum.

Suggested retail price: about $30 for the 750ml bottle.

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Passoã

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Sometimes a liqueur gets short shrift among tasting notes collections because they're not really at their best when consumed straight. But, when they work well in cocktails, they deserve special notice. This is one such product.

• Passoã: The Passion Drink

The label design, the Web site sales pitch, indeed the whole mood of Passoã screams Brazil and the Caribbean even if the spelling of "flavor" is the English style, "flavour." However, this 40-proof liqueur is a product of France and is imported by Remy Cointreau USA.

Origin aside, the passion fruit flavor base is bold and pleasing, an inviting tangy sweetness that immediately got me thinking about cocktail combinations.

The makers most often suggest orange or grapefruit juice, and even have added some infused versions to the product line -- cocõ (coconut), mango and anañas (pineapple). I decided to try it in an even more Brazilian mannner -- with cachaça. The result was excellent.

2 parts Boca Loca cachaça
1 part Passoã
Pineapple juice
Maraschino cherry for garnish

Half-fill a cocktail tumbler with fresh ice, pour cachaça and Passoã over the ice, top with pineapple juice, stir briskly to blend, garnish with a cherry and serve.

Suggested retail price: $17.99 for the 750ml bottle.

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