Chatel Arrangé Banane et Caramel

This is a rhum arrange from Chatel on Reunion, the French-island tradition of steeping fruit and other flavourings in rum. The base is a cane juice spirit, here infused with banana and caramel, a sweet and dessert leaning combination.

An arrange is meant to be soft, round and fruit forward rather than dry, so this reads as a flavoured, lightly sweet pour built around ripe banana and a caramel note. At 40 percent it is gentle and easygoing, the kind of bottle served chilled as a digestif or over ice. Honest framing matters here: this is a flavoured rum, not a neat agricole, and it leans toward the sweeter end of the island repertoire.