Charrette Rhum Traditionell Blanc

Charrette is Reunion's best-known rum brand, and this Traditionnel Blanc is a light, unaged white bottled at 40%. Reunion sits outside the Martinique AOC, and this is an entry-level island white more in the traditional molasses-leaning style than the grassy cane-juice agricole of the French Caribbean, presented young and unfussy.

The profile is simple and direct: the nose offers citrus over a clean, alcoholic base, and the palate brings fruity citrus with the spirit running fairly hot. It falls a little short of the brighter unaged rums of Martinique and Guadeloupe when sipped neat, with the alcohol more present than the flavour, but it earns its keep as a workhorse. It shines as a cocktail base and, by local tradition, as a kitchen rum for flambeing crepes and enriching cakes, where its clean, citrusy character carries through.