Chamarel Extra Rare (15th Anniversary) 2008

Chamarel is a respected Mauritian distillery, and this Extra Rare, released for the producer's fifteenth anniversary, draws on cane juice laid down in 2008. Because Mauritius sits outside the French AOC, this is agricole-style rum rather than a protected agricole, but the long quarter-century in cask makes it one of the more mature cane-juice bottlings around.

Unusually for the style, it is distilled on a pot still rather than a column, then matured in ex-bourbon oak under tropical conditions that drive deep extraction. The nose is fruity and generous with raisin, sugarcane and orange, while the palate turns to vanilla, more dark fruit, prunes and firming tannins. The finish stays dry with sugarcane and honey over lingering oak. Soft at 45% and well worth a little air, it is a fruit-forward, gently tannic sipper for an after-dinner hour.