Isautier Arrangé Café Vanille

This is a rhum arrange, a flavoured rum rather than a dry agricole, and it should be enjoyed for what it is. Isautier, an old Reunion house, takes a molasses base distilled on a column still and infuses it with coffee and vanilla, bottling the result at 40%.

The character is straightforward and sweet: roasted coffee and vanilla on the nose, the same coffee and vanilla warming the palate, and a soft, warm finish. Tasters note it drinks best served well chilled, since at room temperature the sweetness can dominate, and it works nicely as a digestif. This is a dessert-leaning, liqueur-style rum rather than a sipper for those chasing cane character, and it makes no pretence otherwise, an easy, comforting after-dinner pour for drinkers who enjoy coffee and vanilla flavours over a relaxed nightcap.