Grays S.B.S 2008

This S.B.S bottling comes from Denmark's 1423, whose Single Barrel Selection is known for detail and transparency, and draws on rum from Grays in Mauritius. The 2008 vintage carries eleven years of age and arrives as a single cask at cask strength, 54.8%. Despite the agricole label inherited from the catalogue, this is a molasses rum, not cane juice.

Matured in ex-bourbon oak and bottled unsweetened in the house style, non-chill-filtered, it shows a rich, vinous side: vanilla, wine, raisin and brown sugar on the nose, a palate of oak, prune, tobacco and cherry, and a dry, fruity, oaky and spicy finish. Its spicy, fruit-laden character recalls a young Trinidadian, with peach and mango threading through the wood. The cask strength gives it body and grip while the profile stays dry. A characterful Mauritian molasses single cask for drinkers who like their rum fruity, spiced and full-strength.