Middas Reserva. Few things in the rum and cachaça world surprise me. I think just about every gimmick has been tried by the numerous rum brands I have come across over the best 8 or so years. Step forward Middas Reserva cachaça.

Some of you may be familiar with the Swiss cinnamon schnapps Goldschlager – which distinguishes itself by having gold leaf floating in the mixture. To be fair in a clear schnapps the effect is quite good. In an aged cachaça? I’d need convincing.

But that is what Middas Reserva is – aged cachaça with gold leaf floating in it. You may be familiar with King Midas from Greek Mythology. Everything he touched turned to gold. I’ve never seen the spelling Middas used but I am pretty sure Midas is what the brand is alluding to. The tag line used by them is The Golden Touch.

Presentation wise – as you can see your cachaça comes in black velvet style bag with a gold drawstring and MIDDAS emblazoned across the front. In all honesty it’s pretty tacky looking.

I was expecting a similarly horrendous bottle but in actual fact the bottle design isn’t all that bad. A quick shake of the contents reveals the gold leaf floating in the cachaça. In Brasil this retails at around R$ 230 which is £50 in UK sterling or euros pretty much. It’s quite an expensive cachaça.

Middas have two expressions this Reserva and a white cachaça which is aged in a peanut wood. This Middas Reserva is aged in French and American Oak, Jequitiba Rosa and Amburana barrels. So we have a mix of imported and native woods. I am unsure how old this cachaça is – I think the label states that it is a blend of cachaça aged up to 18 years but my Portuguese isn’t exactly perfect.

The website notes that only 1,000 units of Middas Reserva are produced each year. The “gold” used in the cachaça is 23 Carat Gold imported from Germany. It has been bottled at 39% ABV.

Middas Reserva is produced on an Alembic Pot Still at Walnut Creek in the state of Sao Paulo. Middas has been in production since 2006. It has picked up a few awards since then so it will be interesting to see how this tastes – gimmicks aside.

In the glass we have a slightly dull golden brown spirit. Flecks of gold add a bit of bling but the effect isn’t as vivid as you might hope.

The nose is nicely balanced. Buttery – double cream and some crème fraiche. Notes of honey and vanilla. For the ABV I am pleased to note just how complex the nose is I was expecting something a bit more straight forward.

There is a slight spiciness on the nose ginger and a touch of bourbon esque spices. There is a slight white wine like note on the nose as well which adds a little more complexity.

Sipped Middas Reserva it is initially quite spicy and woody. More so than the creamy nose suggests. The initial entry is spicy with a good hit of ginger and a nice weight of sweet/sour oak spices. Once past the initial woody and spiciness you move into a very sweet nicely balanced mid palate.

Honey, sweet sugar cane and vanilla come into the fore. I suspected a touch of added sugar but the Hydrometer tells me otherwise. There may be a touch of added sugar though.

As a sipper this is a really nice well balanced spirit. Like a lot of cachaca’s the finish isn’t particularly long but it is good. There are no bad or off notes about this spirit.

The more you sip the more of the creaminess that was on the nose comes back into play. Double cream and a touch of olive come along mingling with the sweeter notes of the sugar cane.

Despite the gimmicky nature of this product I am pleasantly surprised by it. It pretty much justifies its price point though I think without the gold it could be cheaper. Which would in no way damage the actual spirit.

Usually in the rum and cachaça world you can read a book by its cover. I was expecting this to be a like The Hollies song King Midas in Reverse.

It’s definitely not. It’s a very decent cachaça.