[Country of Peace × City of Peace] Why a Superb Rum Aged 100% in Scotch Casks Melts into a Hiroshima Night

2026.10.05

In short: Royal Centenario 25 from Costa Rica — “the country of peace without an army” — is a solera rum matured entirely in Scotch whisky casks (70% Lowland, 30% Speyside), elegant enough for whisky lovers. Why it feels right to drink it in Hiroshima, “the city of peace.” From Bar Little Happiness.

“I like whisky, but rum is too sweet, and hardcore rums for connoisseurs are tough too…”

If that’s how you feel, you may have just met a bottle that brilliantly overturns that view.

This time: “Royal Centenario 25,” a treasure from Costa Rica in Central America.

Costa Rica, known as “the country of peace that has no army,” and Hiroshima, “the city of peace.”

Let me unravel the story of a surprisingly delicate, dramatic glass that connects these two places.

■ What “100% Scotch casks” really means — overturning the idea of rum
What makes this rum special is that its entire maturation takes place in empty Scotch whisky casks.
Lowland casks (70% of the total)
Give the spirit a gentle yet firm backbone and vanilla notes from American white oak.
Speyside casks (30% of the total)
Add the bright, fruity depth of whisky’s holy land.

The strength of sugarcane, rum’s raw material, and the tradition of Scotch converse and melt together in the cask.

Truly a hybrid masterpiece born of “harmony between Costa Rica and Scotland.”

■ The height of maturation: the solera system that “harmonises” time
The very opposite of whisky’s “single cask” or “vintage” — you could call it “the art of blending.”

That is the solera system.

It is a traditional technique originally used for sherry and Spanish rum, but Royal Centenario 25 runs it at an even more sophisticated level.

1. The beauty of step-by-step “topping up”
   In the solera system, casks are stacked in several tiers, and the spirit for bottling is drawn from the bottom tier.
   But the casks are never emptied.
   The amount removed is topped up with younger spirit from the tier above, and that in turn from the tier above… and so on.
   In this way, “the weight of 25 years” and “the fresh vitality of young spirit” are in constant conversation.
2. A “marriage” inside Scotch casks
   What makes Royal Centenario special is that it runs this solera system in “100% Scotch casks.”
   Vanilla that grows in Lowland casks
   Bright fruitiness that grows in Speyside casks
   Through the solera system, these blend slowly over decades.
   “The youthful spice of six years ago” awakens “the silky sweetness of 25 years ago,” and finally they are refined into one complete harmony.
   That is the secret of this rum’s “many layers of flavour.”

■ Official tasting note:
The tasting note on the official website proves just how elegant the structure of this “25” is.

Nose
“Very complex and full of sweet fruit aromas. Notably, dried fruits (caramelised apple and pear) that only long ageing brings, delicate spice from the Scotch casks, and notes of vanilla and oak.”

Palate
“Surprisingly gentle and elegant on the palate. Wood, toasted nuts and the sweetness of molasses in perfect balance. A very silky texture.”
Finish
“Long, dry and refined. Woody notes and faint spice persist to the end — a perfect full stop that captivates even whisky lovers.”

■ This glass, for a night in Hiroshima.
Costa Rica and Hiroshima.
However far apart they are, the “spirit that loves peace” in both resonates.

Hiroshima, which overcame the fires of war and built today’s peaceful nights.

In that city, tasting the rum that is a “crystal of harmony” from Costa Rica, a country without an army.

An amber colour born not from different personalities clashing, but from accepting each other and lifting each other up over long years.

I can’t help feeling it is the very shape of the “peace” we wish for.

The wind of Scotland and the sun of Costa Rica — at Little Happiness in Hiroshima.

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Every encounter is meant to be. Welcome to the world of Rum&Whisky.

Mika Tanimoto, Bar Little Happiness