Savanna S.B.S Grand Arôme 2021

Savanna's Grand Arome is its high ester, long ferment molasses style, a world apart from the distillery's agricole, and this 2021 was chosen by the Danish bottler 1423 for its transparent S.B.S Single Barrel Selection. Aged in virgin oak and bottled unsweetened at 59.1%, it is built for funk hunters rather than the cautious, so honesty is in order: this is a polarising, full throttle rum.

Grand Arome is all about esters, and this delivers them in force, with overripe fermented fruit, rubber, glue and a salty, briny edge dominating from nose to a dry, yeasty, almost chemical finish, the virgin oak adding grip rather than sweetness. There is little here to soften the assault, which is precisely the point. It belongs only with seasoned enthusiasts who already love Savanna's wildest releases and want something even drier and stranger, a fascinating, divisive bottle that wears its intensity with pride.