Santa Teresa Linaje was released back in 2012.  Whether it was a worldwide release or not I’m not entirely sure.

Santa Teresa are the oldest producers of rum in Venezuela.  An independent family group employing over 400 people. Santa Teresa is renowned for its community investment, including the Alcatraz project, the Revenga municipal projects of Aragua State, location of the Agroindustrial tourist and sports complex at Hacienda Santa Teresa.

The Linaje (proncounced Lin-AH-hay) only came to my attention a few months ago – it might have even been a photograph on Instagram which alerted my attention.  For some reason the black bottle with gold/yellow lettering was remarkably appealing to me.

Santa Teresa rums hail from Venezuela – home of Pampero.  Like most Central American producers they produce rums with no age statements using the solera system.  To Santa Teresa’s credit they do not produce rums with solera age statements on the bottles.

I found their 1796 highly enjoyable so I figured I would give this rum a shot.  At around £25 for a 70cl bottle with an ABV of 40%. I was interested to see how the younger Santa Teresa rums would perform.

I don’t know why I like the rums presentation so much – but I do I even like the plastic screw cap which is functional but allows the rum to keep its sleek appearance.  The presentation really does suggest a rum more expensive than the £25 I paid.

To be honest this rum doesn’t seem to have caught the imagination.  There is very little comment on the rum online and my research into the age of the rum etc has led me to the Santa Teresa site.  Which like the presentation of this rum is also rather slick.

Unfortunately I can’t find any information on how old the blend of this rum is.  The Santa Teresa Gran Reserva is a blend of rums upto 5 years old and this rum is said to be a bridge between that and the 1796.  So I guess this rum is slightly older.  I say slightly older as it is according to the website still best paired with soft drinks.  The bottles label is no help to me either as I assume it is in Spanish.

In the glass Linaje is a lovely reddish/golden brown and the nose is nicely balanced.  Sweet almost red wine like notes, rich plums alongside nice buttery light oak and vanilla. It does have a hit of alcohol as well suggesting it isn’t the oldest rum blend you’ll ever encounter.

As a sipper it is perhaps just a shade too young and a little one dimensional.  It lacks any real complexity and depth of flavour.  It’s not rough as such – there is some alcohol burn, nothing to harsh but it does display young sweet alcohol notes especially on the entry.  I like the oaky-ness of this rum – which suggests it will stand up and still deliver a kick when mixed.

Mixed with cola you get a very pleasant rum and cola. No surprise for a rum in the £25 price bracket, it certainly should be mixable.  I’d imagine this rum could be quite a versatile young rum in cocktails etc.  In a rum and cola it gives a nice smooth oaky drink which is very enjoyable.  It is slightly expensive for what it is though.  I could spend £25 and get a lot more for my money.

It perhaps lacks a little extra oomph but all in all this a decent rum.  It won’t replace 1796 as a sipper but it is better than Pampero Anejo Especial.

Slightly above average and quite nicely done but all in all pretty forgettable.