CDI Boulet de Canon 13

CDI Boulet de Canon 13 is a smoke forward molasses rum from Compagnie des Indes, the French bottler usually known for its terroir led single casks. This release is something different in the catalogue, a deliberately smoky, whisky leaning experiment bottled at 46%, where heavy smoke character takes the lead over the fruit and oak the house is better known for.

The nose is all smoke, char, pipe tobacco and a burnt edge, and the palate follows with charred wood, pipe tobacco, barrel and cigar, finishing smoky and mild with a whisky like note. A little caramel sits underneath, but smoke and ash dominate throughout, with herbal notes of thyme, rosemary and oregano lurking behind. This is a niche, polarising rum aimed squarely at drinkers who love peated whisky or smoke finished spirits and want to take that taste sideways into rum. For anyone put off by heavy smoke it will feel overwhelming, but for the right palate it is a bold, distinctive curiosity.