Capulet & Montague Brands GmbH Bellevue Bonpland 1998

Bellevue is a Marie-Galante distillery that supplies bulk rum to independent bottlers, and this 1998 vintage was bottled by Capulet and Montague Brands under their Bonpland label. Distilled from fresh-pressed sugar-cane juice on a column still and aged 20 years in ex-bourbon oak before bottling at 45%, it is a long-matured Guadeloupe agricole drawn from a single distillery's stock.

The standout is an intense anise note that several tasters compare to pastis or sambuca, rare and striking in a rum. The nose is anise, smoke, sweet wood and oak, the palate brings licorice, anise, smoke and oak with chocolate depth, and the finish stays dry and fruity with smoke and vanilla. Two decades of tropical ageing have built real richness and a dark colour while keeping it dry. This is a distinctive, savoury old agricole for drinkers who want something memorable and unusual, best sipped neat and slowly.