Chatel Arrangé Ananas Banane Flambée

Chatel is a Reunion house specialising in rhum arrange, the island tradition of macerating fruit and spice in rum, and this Ananas Banane Flambee leans on pineapple and caramelised banana. It is a flavoured, sweetened spirit, and reads exactly the way its name promises.

Pineapple and banana dominate the nose and palate, ripe and dessert-like, with the flambeed banana lending a touch of caramelised richness. The cane-juice base, distilled on a column still, supports the fruit rather than competing with it. At 40% it has a little more backbone than the lower-proof punches, but it remains an openly sweet, fruit-forward arrange made for chilled sipping or a tropical cocktail. This is a relaxed, holiday-style pour, honest about its sweetness, for drinkers who enjoy ripe fruit and caramel over dry cane character.