Isautier Blanc (Agent Double Fusion)

Isautier in Reunion builds this Agent Double Fusion as an assemblage of two rums, one made from molasses in the traditional style and one from pure cane juice in the agricole manner, married into a single white. That blend is the whole idea: the molasses side lends oily, sweet-edged weight while the cane-juice side brings fresh, iodine-tinged green notes.

Unaged and unsweetened, it lands fresh and floral on the nose with citrus, mint and a faint smoke, then turns oily and vegetal on the palate with a fresh, floral core. The finish stays warm, oily and dry. At 55 percent it has the body to carry both halves of its makeup, the contrast between the rich and the green giving it more interest than a single-base white. A versatile mixer that holds its own neat, and a neat demonstration of how Reunion straddles the molasses and cane-juice traditions.