HSE Single Malt Highland Finish 2005

HSE, Habitation Saint-Etienne, is a Martinique house long known for its cask finishes, and this Single Malt Highland Finish is a 2005 cane juice rum given more than a year in Highland whisky casks after traditional oak ageing. Distilled from fresh-pressed sugar cane juice, it carries seven years of age and is bottled at 44%.

The Scottish casks make their presence felt strongly, bringing whisky character, peat and smoke that sit over the rum's tropical fruit and nutty side. The palate stays fruity beneath the malt influence, with nuts and smoke, and the finish runs spicy, oaky and smoky. This is firmly a crossover bottle that will split opinion depending on how much you want the whisky to lead, since here it largely does. Best suited to drinkers who enjoy peated malt and are curious how an aged Martinique agricole behaves under a Highland finish.