Famille Ricci Exception 2000

Famille Ricci Exception 2000 is a single cask drawn from Saint Lucia Distillers and bottled by Famille Ricci, the French selector with a name for tracking down unusual barrels. Distilled in 2000 and aged twenty-two years, it is a long-matured molasses rum that reads a little off the beaten path for the island, leaning spicier and more aromatic than the familiar house style most associate with Saint Lucia.

Matured in an ex-bourbon cask, the standard for aged Caribbean molasses rum, it has taken on real depth over two decades. The nose offers spice, tea and coconut, while the palate turns round and fruity with cream toffee, and a tea note carries into the finish. At a measured 44% rather than cask strength, this is a single barrel poured for elegance, an unusual, spice-led face of Saint Lucia seen through a careful independent eye.