Distilia Ten Cane The Last Cask – Phoenix, Artist (Yu Chuan) 2008

Distilia bottle this Ten Cane single cask from Trinidad under their Last Cask series, drawing on the 2008 vintage. At fifteen years and 61.6%, it is a powerful, dark expression that sits with the bold, woody side of Trinidad rum rather than the island's lighter living style, aimed squarely at experienced drinkers.

Matured in ex-bourbon oak, it leans into roasted wood, leather and black tea, lifted by a generous run of cherry and dried fruit. The nose is dark with dried fruit, barrel and red fruit, the palate spicy and roasted with cherry to the fore, and the finish long, spicy and fruit-laden over more barrel. Sugar is unconfirmed but the profile reads dry and oak-led. At cask strength it rewards attention and a little patience, a cherry-and-leather Trinidad rum with real punch and a warming, lingering close.