HSE Rhum Vieux Agricole

Distilled at Distillerie du Simon, this HSE Rhum Vieux Agricole is a young Martinique AOC rum, three years old at 42% and unsweetened. It is pitched as a solid first step into aged agricole, with a cognac-cask influence setting it apart from the standard ex-bourbon route.

Pressed from fresh sugarcane juice and distilled on a column still kept low to hold the vegetal cane character, it spends its time over cognac wood that pushes it toward dried fruit and a nutty depth. The nose shows dried fruit, cognac and a herbal agricole edge, the palate turns woody and tannic with a noticeable alcohol lift, and the finish stays dry, woody and faintly bitter with that cognac thread running through. It carries more wood than many young agricoles, with herbal notes leaning slightly musty in a not unpleasant way. An honest, unsweetened sipper that puts oak ahead of fruit.