Best Souvenirs and Gifts of Costa Rica, #1, Ron Centenario

Best Costa Rican rum
from Ron Centenario,
makes a great souvenir.

We're starting a brief series on the best souvenirs to bring back from Costa Rica, but if you live in Costa Rica, these are the best gifts for special occasions.  Number one on the list is Ron Centenario 20 years, a dark, aged rum in a leather-wrapped bottle. We've brought Ron Centenario to Europe and shared it with friends and family, and we've brought it to special birthday parties in Pavones. If your friends don't like this, you need new friends.
Enjoy like a fine cognac, neat. For some reason, it tastes best when drunk in Costa Rica, perhaps because of the warm climate. Please do not mix with rum -- this isn't for Cuba Libres (though Ron Centenario makes an excellent mixing rum, as well as aged rums of 5, 7, 9 and 12 years).

Ron Centenario company says of its masterpiece, "Created by experts for experts in an exquisite presentation handmade by Costa Rican artisans. This rum has a unique blend and an aging process using oak barrels, used after the aging of Scotch, resulting in a legendary aroma, color and flavor. It is characterized by a fruity aroma, blended notes of wood and brandy, has a deep amber color, an an unequaled taste."

This is a small-batch rum, it can only be purchased at the duty free shops in San Jose airport, though we have seen it occasionally at the Supermercardo Pearson in Golfito.  Fortunately, because it is sold "duty free", the price at the airport is only $25 per bottle, truly a bargain for the quality of the product.  The leather-wrapped bottle certainly makes a statement, and the empties are hard to discard because the bottles are beautiful.

Are you a rum connoisseur?  Have you tried it?  How do you think this rum compares to the great rums of Nicaragua, Cuba and the Caribbean?

We'll report on other exceptional gifts and souvenirs soon.