Rhum J.M Blanc Jardin Macouba

Rhum J.M has distilled at the foot of Mont Pelee since 1845, drawing on the volcanic terroir of Martinique's far north, and this Blanc Jardin Macouba is a rested white agricole made entirely from fresh-pressed sugarcane juice under the island's AOC. It is unsweetened, as the appellation requires, and bottled at a punchy 53.4 percent.

Distilled on a creole column kept deliberately low in proof to preserve the green, vegetal cane character, it leads with sugarcane sap, lime zest, cut grass and a floral lift. The palate is peppery and vegetal with that unmistakable agricole snap, yet it drinks rounder and softer than its strength suggests. A classic candidate for Ti Punch, where the cane and citrus come into their own, though it holds up neat for those who like their blancs bold.