Carrere Montebello Zenga 60° 2020

Montebello, made at the Carrere distillery on Basse-Terre, is a traditional Guadeloupe agricole house, and this Zenga edition is its blanc pushed to full power. Distilled from fresh-pressed sugar cane juice on a column run low to keep the vegetal congeners, it carries the grassy, green signature of the style at a strength that demands respect.

Despite 60% ABV the spirit drinks surprisingly round, fresh sugarcane and fruit leading the nose with pear and stone fruit alongside the cane. The palate is powerful but controlled, big on cane and pepper with a nougat sweetness underneath, and the finish turns peppery and vegetal with a lick of licorice and tropical fruit. Unsweetened and built for impact, it is a natural for Ti' Punch and daiquiris where its strength carries the cane through.