El Dorado Special Reserve 21 Year old Rum

I came home from work on Wednesday, tired and worn out, yet having to get ready to go to fencing practice.

My office is closer to home than Teena's so I usually beat her home and have time to walk our dog, KC, and empty the dishwasher. She came in handed me a bag and said that she bought me a gift.

And what a gift!!!

It was a bottle of El Dorado 21 year old rum.

I have only tried it once, at a tasting at the Summerhill LCBO and absolutely loved it. Now I stood holding a bottle of the best tasting rum I have ever had, in the safety and comfort of my own kitchen.

What did I do to deserve such a gift. Apparently I am a great husband, always doing the little things. The way I see it, I do dozens of little things for Teena, she does hundreds of little things for me. Yet, she still buys me something like this. This is not a little thing. It is a big thing.

I couldn't try it until after I got home from fencing, where I poured myself a generous amount into a brandy snifter. No Diet Coke for this.

The moment I popped the cork, the room flooded with the aromas of the rum. It was a beautiful smell. The barrel aging makes it a dark brownish colour.

When I sipped it, the full rum flavour comes through. There is no bite to it, no edge ... just a smooth, beautiful, powerful flavour. This is a rum to be enjoyed as you would a liqueur. And enjoy it I will.

According to the El Dorado website, this is "matured in 45 gallon oak casks in an ideal natural climate for ageing - within six degrees of the equator on the tropical north coast of South America".

They go on to say that El Dorado 21 Year Old "is designed for the connoisseur of rums who has the time to indulge and appreciate the wonders of this creation."

And appreciate it I will.

Thank you, Teena! Thank you!