HSE Château Marquis de Terme Finish 2007

HSE, Habitation Saint-Etienne, built much of its reputation on cask finishes and vintages, and this 2007 is a clear example, distilled at the Distillerie du Simon from fresh sugarcane juice and finished in casks from the Bordeaux estate Chateau Marquis de Terme. Eleven years of maturation and AOC Martinique status put it firmly in the aged tier, dry and unsweetened.

The creole column keeps the cane character intact, and the wine cask layers red fruit and cherry over it. The nose moves between sugarcane, cherry, oak and vanilla, the palate dry and spicy with licorice and a tannic grip from the finish, the wood and red fruit holding through a finish of spice, cherry and tannins. It bridges nicely from wine-finished whisky toward agricole, the fruit and structure arriving without much heat. A stirred drink or neat pour both suit it.