Dugas Rivière du Mât La Maison du Rhum #4 2011

This comes from Riviere du Mat on Reunion, selected for Dugas under the La Maison du Rhum label, a single-vintage 2011 cane juice rum aged ten years. Distilled from fresh-pressed sugar cane juice rather than molasses, it is agricole-style from an island that makes both, and bottled at a sturdy 49%.

The column still distillate carries an unusual spice and licorice character on the nose, with cinnamon and dark fruit over a woody base. The palate turns sweeter, with sugarcane, orange and a green vegetal streak, before a finish that runs bitter and leathery with citrus and oak. It is a divisive, more medicinal style of agricole, dried fruit and umami sitting alongside the grass, that suits drinkers chasing something off the beaten path rather than a textbook fresh-cane profile. Best taken neat and given time.