Famille Ricci Zodiac Balance 2024

Famille Ricci Zodiac Balance is an island blend assembled by the French selector Famille Ricci, drawing together both column and pot still rum to a stated age of seventeen years and bottling it unsweetened at 50%. The name points at its intent, a marriage built for harmony between fruit, wood and spice rather than a single dramatic note.

The blend opens fruity and generous, pineapple and tropical fruit lifted by papaya on the nose. The palate brings the wood forward, dark chocolate and a toasted depth framing the pineapple and tropical fruit, with a certain heaviness from the oak. The finish is woody with a faint medicinal edge. There is a clear sense of layering here as the fruit, the roast and the spice take their turns, and at an honest 50% it stays approachable without losing structure. It is a well-balanced, dry blend that rewards an unhurried glass.