By The Dutch Batavia Arrack

By The Dutch Batavia Arrack is an Indonesian sugar cane spirit, a historic cousin of rum traditionally fermented with red rice cakes, here aged eight years and bottled at 48 percent. Arrack is one of the oldest distillates in the punch tradition, and this dry, grain inflected style sits some way from a soft sipping rum. It is a bottle for the curious, those drawn to unusual spirits with a story.

Maturation in ex bourbon wood gives a little structure, but the character stays lean and dry, with overripe banana, honey, pear and cooked rice on the nose moving to a woody, spicy, faintly smoky palate and a dry, vegetal finish. There is a distinct whisky like, almost peaty grain note that sets it apart and can read sharp or chemical neat. It comes into its own in punches and tiki cocktails, where its aromatic dryness lifts a Mai Tai or a Ruby Punch better than it sips on its own.