Clément Blanc 40

Clement is one of Martinique's best-known agricole houses, a 300-year estate distilling from fresh-pressed sugar-cane juice rather than molasses. This Blanc 40 is the entry into that world, an unaged white bottled at a soft 40% that keeps things light and approachable.

The profile is classic young blanc: fresh-cut grass and green vegetal notes on the nose, sugarcane and a little floral lift on the palate, then a dry finish edged with black pepper. It is gentle and uncomplicated, leaning toward the mixing glass rather than the sipping chair, and it makes a clean, herbaceous base for a Ti Punch or daiquiri. Anyone wanting to understand the grassy snap that separates agricole from sweet molasses rum will find it an honest, inexpensive starting point, just bottled too softly to deliver big intensity neat.