Rum Paradise Bielle Cask Project No. 1 2015

Rum Paradise bottled this single Bielle for its Cask Project series, drawing an 8 Year Old from the Marie-Galante distillery known for cane-variety experiments and high-proof blancs. Distilled from fresh-pressed sugar-cane juice rather than molasses, it carries the island's signature snap underneath, but the headline here is the wood and the wine-soaked finish that the project was built around.

Matured in ex-bourbon and released at 55% without added sugar, it pours dried fruit, raisin and allspice on the nose, then turns spicy and syrupy across the palate before a long close of maple, barrel and cocoa. The cask runs assertive, and the alcohol sits forward rather than tucked away, so this reads as an experiment for drinkers who enjoy heavily finished agricoles. Anyone chasing Bielle's bright, grassy cane freshness will find it buried under the dried-fruit weight.