Chamarel XO Single Malt Finish

Chamarel is one of Mauritius's best-known distilleries, working from fresh-pressed sugar-cane juice in the agricole manner, though as an Indian Ocean rum it sits outside the French legal term and is best called agricole-style. This XO is seven years old and given an extra spell in single malt whisky casks, a finish that pushes it toward richer, rounder territory than a straight cane-juice white.

Bottled at 45% with sweetening undisclosed, it noses on leather, dried dates, caramel and vanilla, then drinks with vanilla, passion fruit and an intense fruity core before a finish of coconut, orange peel and round fruit. The whisky-cask influence rounds the edges and adds a malty depth without burying the cane origin, and the result reads as balanced and lightly bitter rather than sweet. An approachable, fruit-forward sipper for drinkers curious about Mauritian rum and cask-finished cane spirit, comfortable neat.