Trois Frères Distillery Takamaka Dark Spiced

Takamaka Dark Spiced comes from Trois Freres Distillery on the Seychelles, built on a pot-still molasses base and flavoured for the mixing glass, bottled at a gentle 38 percent. It makes no pretence of being a serious sipper, sitting openly in the sweet, fruit-led spiced category.

The nose and palate run sweet and tropical: vanilla and caramel with papaya, mango and apricot, lifted by cinnamon and warm baking spice. It is built on essences and the sweetness is pronounced, so this is honest flavoured-rum territory rather than a dry distillate to study. Stretched with cola or built into a fruity cocktail it does its job well, delivering easy tropical sweetness, while drinkers who already favour unsweetened rums taken neat will find it too simple and confected for their taste.