Savanna Cuvée Maison Blanche 2006

Savanna, founded in 1870, makes several very different families of rum on Reunion, and the label matters: this Cuvee Maison Blanche is made from molasses rather than cane juice, so it sits apart from the distillery's agricole and high-ester Grand Arome lines. It carries a ten year age statement from the 2006 vintage.

Distilled on Savanna's Savalle column still, a versatile metal multi-column that yields a light to medium body with a sweet cane nose, and matured in ex-bourbon oak, it is bottled unsweetened at 43%. The nose is floral and woody with a clear vegetal lift, while the palate brings floral and vegetal notes with vanilla, closing woody and gently caramelised. Soft and easygoing at this strength, it makes a relaxed evening pour and a useful introduction to Savanna before stepping up to their stronger bottlings.