CDI South Pacific 2010

This single cask from Compagnie des Indes draws ten year old rum from South Pacific Distilleries in Fiji, distilled in 2010 and bottled at a relaxed 44%. Compagnie des Indes is a respected, terroir led French bottler, and this release shows the lighter, drier side of Fiji rather than its funkiest extreme.

Matured in an ex-bourbon cask, it leads with dry citrus, grapefruit and lemon to the fore, alongside young wood and vanilla and a faint rubber or iodine note. The palate is dry and woody with grapefruit and cardamom, and the finish turns bitter and roasted with prunes. At drinking strength it stays approachable and restrained rather than intense, with just enough Fijian character to mark its origin. It works as a solid, dry everyday sipper at fair value, an easygoing way to meet the island's lighter style.