Kaniché Double Wood XO

Kaniché Double Wood XO is a Barbados rum bottled by Maison Ferrand, the French house behind Plantation and Planteray, built from molasses spirit drawn off pot and column stills in the classic Bajan manner and given a two-cask maturation. Ferrand ages tropically at origin and finishes in casks in France, the house signature behind its smooth, rounded style.

The copy will be straight about the sweetness: this is a sweetened rum, and Ferrand is open about using dosage. It pours soft and easy with vanilla, caramel, coconut and gentle tropical fruit, finishing on coconut, mild oak and a caramelised sweetness. At 40% it is smooth and approachable, closer to a Diplomatico-style sipper than to the dry, additive-free Barbados rum the island's purist houses make. Drinkers chasing classic, bone-dry Bajan character will find it too dosed and simple, but for an easy, sweet neat pour or a simple cocktail it does the job pleasantly.