Japan Import System Rhum J.M 2003

J.M distils in Martinique's far-north Mont Pelee terroir and is among the island's most prized agricole houses. This 2003 vintage is a single cask selected by Japan Import System, the Japanese bottler, made from fresh-pressed sugar-cane juice on a column still and bottled at cask strength of 51.4% under the Martinique AOC.

Distilled to keep the green cane character, this particular barrel leans toward a softer, fruit-and-honey register rather than grassy snap. The nose starts a touch reserved then opens fruity and sweet with caramel and a medicinal edge, and the palate brings fruity, honeyed sweetness of character over sugar cane and young wood. As an unsweetened agricole the sweetness is all spirit and cask rather than dosage, giving a rounded, approachable pour despite the cask-strength proof. A pleasant, fruit-forward single-cask J.M that rewards a little time in the glass and opens with a few drops of water.