V&B Saint James 2008

This V&B Saint James 2008 is a Martinique agricole from one of the island's oldest and largest distilleries, founded in 1765, here bottled at cask strength for the French retailer V&B. Distilled from fresh sugarcane juice and matured around ten years in ex-bourbon oak, this AOC Martinique release lands at a serious 62.1%, brut de fut and unsweetened.

The creole column keeps cane congeners in the spirit, and a decade in tropical cask has driven deep oak extraction. The nose is woody and nutty with dark chocolate and spice, the palate dry and spice-forward with licorice, hazelnut and more wood, the finish woody and peppery with a roasted, nutty close. The alcohol is well integrated for the strength, the body dry and chocolate-driven. At this proof water helps, though it holds together neat. An aged agricole with real intensity, for a drinker who likes power and dryness together.