Flor de Cana

So here we find ourselves again at the end of a hard days travelling sitting in our rocking chairs with the familiar taste of Flor de Caña to relax our weary bones. Flor de Caña is without a doubt Nicaragua’s number one drink. It is a rum, but it is not like any other rum we have tasted before. The first variety we sampled was the Gran Reserva 7 year aged which was almost too easy to drink straight and only cost a few dollars. Very enjoyable. We have often heard people describe spirits as being ‘smooth’ but this is the first time we have actually understood what they meant.

The second variety we tasted was the 5 year aged which is ridiculously cheap. 365ml will cost £2, and again, it is an extremely pleasing drink. The cheaper unaged variety can be found in any rum cocktail in the country and will cost pennies but will not have the aftertaste of paint stripper that is usually the case with cheap cocktails.

The rum tour of the Flor De Caña factory, which is available as a daytrip from Leon, looked a worthwhile venture and perhaps would have been a good accompaniment to this post but at $60 per person that equated to almost a life time supply of this tasty drink. Although regrettable, surely the real pleasure is in the drinking and we did plenty of that.

Nicaragua has exceeded itself with its national drink. Flor de Caña is certainly a drink to be proud of and as we head over the border to Costa Rica we leave not just with the memories but also with a litre bottle of Flor de Caña stored in our bags!