HSE chêne français 2007

This is HSE's chêne français from the 2007 vintage, a single cask of Martinique agricole matured in French oak and bottled at cask strength, 50.8% and unsweetened. Distilled at Distillerie du Simon, it shows what happens when fresh cane spirit meets tighter-grained European oak instead of the usual ex-bourbon.

The spirit is pressed from fresh sugarcane juice and run on a column still kept low to preserve the grassy congeners, then given years under tropical heat in French oak that lends polished spice. The nose is the highlight, fruity and floral with vanilla, citrus and a little barrel char. The palate is dry and intense, woody and spice-driven with tobacco and tropical fruit, and the long finish carries smoke, caramel and fruit. It needs time in the glass or a splash of water to bloom, after which it drinks as a serious, dry aged agricole.