Beenleigh Plantation Sherry Palo Cortado Cask Finish (Romdeluxe) 2009

This is a 2009 Beenleigh, one of Australia's oldest distilleries, bottled under the Plantation single cask banner with a Palo Cortado sherry finish. Distilled on a pot still from molasses and given just over twelve years before bottling unsweetened at 45%, it is a single cask aimed at drinkers who want to see what Australian pot still rum can do with a little age and a characterful sherry cask.

The pot still origin shows in the ester-driven fruit, fresh and ripe with banana tipping toward overripe, a touch of glue lifting the nose in the way heavier pot rums tend to. The Palo Cortado butt lends a dry, nutty frame rather than sweetness, with vanilla and chocolate filling out a woody, fruity palate. The finish is medium and balanced, neither cloying nor austere. It is a well-judged Australian release, dry and honest, that shows the island continent earning a place alongside more familiar pot still origins.