Depaz Dillon VO

Depaz distils at the foot of the volcano Mont Pelee in northern Martinique, working the AOC way from fresh pressed sugar cane juice with no added sugar, its rum carrying a volcanic terroir story. This VO appears under the Dillon brand and sits at the younger end of the aged scale, two years in ex bourbon oak, enough tropical ageing to take the raw edge off while keeping the cane character forward.

The nose offers sugarcane, wood and vanilla with a faint smoky note, while the palate brings vanilla, sugarcane, wood and allspice together, the finish staying simply on wood. It is straightforward and pleasant, the kind of young vieux that drinks well neat in small measures yet has the cane backbone to carry a cocktail. Bottled at 43% and unsweetened, it makes an honest, affordable entry into aged Martinique agricole, simple but tasty, equally at home in a stirred drink as it is in the glass on its own.