Depaz XO Grande Réserve

Depaz works at the foot of Mont Pelee near Saint-Pierre, and its XO Grande Reserve is a Martinique rhum agricole carrying the island's AOC, the only rum appellation in the world. Distilled from fresh-pressed sugarcane juice on a creole column at deliberately low strength, it keeps the grassy cane character that molasses rum lacks, then takes the XO designation with at least six years in oak, here ten.

Martinique's tropical climate ages spirit faster than a cooler cellar would, so a decade in ex-bourbon casks gives real depth without flattening the cane. The nose offers fresh sugarcane, vanilla and orange over wood, leading to a palate of dry oak, spice, caramel and grass, finishing on wood, tropical fruit and tobacco. At 45% and unsweetened, it is smooth yet clearly agricole, drier and more spice-led than a sweet molasses rum, a characterful evening pour that shows the volcanic-terroir style at a comfortable age.