Malahat Spirits Co Limited 750ml

Malahat Spirits Co is a small San Diego distillery, and this Limited bottling is one of its short-run releases, the kind of thing a working distillery puts out when a batch turns out worth keeping separate. Craft rum from the West Coast tends to sit at the drier, spirit-forward end of the category, with cane sweetness underneath the oak rather than layered on top of it. Look for vanilla, dried banana and a little toasted coconut on the nose, then brown sugar, baking spice and light char across the palate, finishing warm and clean. Sip it neat, or use it where a good rum earns its keep, in a daiquiri or an old fashioned.

RumSan Diego, California