A1710 Diamond Rock (Batch 2)

A1710, based at Distillerie du Simon in Martinique, makes cane-juice rums outside the AOC framework, prizing fresh, expressive whites. Diamond Rock, here in its second batch, is made from fresh-pressed sugarcane juice rather than molasses and bottled unaged at full strength.

Distilled on a combination of pot and column stills, then kept low to preserve the green congeners, it is a vivid, true blanc: a nose of sugarcane, ripe fruit, peaches and an alcoholic lift, a palate of cane, spice, fruit and green notes, and a green, tea-tinged, sugarcane finish. The 50-plus strength gives it body and a touch of metal, and there is no added sugar under the house's unsweetened approach. Simple in the best way, built on good fresh cane and citrus, this is a bright, peppery blanc made for a Ti Punch or sipped cold when its lemony snap is the draw.