CDI A.F.D. 2010

CDI A.F.D. 2010 is a Dominican single cask from Compagnie des Indes, the terroir minded French bottler whose single casks are natural and unsweetened. The spirit comes from Alcoholes Finos Dominicanos, distilled on a column still from molasses in 2010, aged eight years in ex-bourbon oak and bottled unsweetened at a robust 62.1% from one barrel.

Despite its youth the high strength gives it plenty to say. The nose offers chocolate, tobacco, licorice and vanilla, the palate turns woody and strong with vanilla and dark chocolate, and the finish leans into chocolate, mocha, cocoa and praline. There is a surprising salty sweet edge and smoky oak beneath the cocoa, and the alcohol is well knit for the proof, though it benefits from rest and a drop of water. A dry, chocolate driven Dominican that shows what the spirit can do without sugar, aimed at drinkers who want intensity and character over softness.