Damoiseau 2009

Damoiseau, the largest distillery in Guadeloupe, made this 2009 vintage from fresh-pressed sugar-cane juice, distilled on a column still under the island's IGP. The molasses-rum sweetness of the wider category is absent here; this is an agricole built on green cane character and barrel influence.

Aged at least seven years in ex-bourbon American oak and bottled at 42%, it opens on yellow fruit, mocha, vanilla and wood, then turns spicy and smoky on the palate with a gingerbread warmth, finishing on spice and a vegetal edge. It drinks as a light, easy vieux with more savoury, toasted character than its softer siblings, a pleasant everyday agricole rather than a heavyweight, rewarding for those who like their cane-juice rum dry and gently spiced.