Karukera L’Insolite 2020

Karukera, relaunched in 2002 and known for its single-cane Canne Bleue work, made L'Insolite as an unaged Guadeloupe blanc. As an IGP rather than AOC bottling, it sits outside Martinique's protected tiers, but the method is pure agricole: fresh-pressed sugar-cane juice run through a tall creole column that distils deliberately low to keep the grassy, vegetal congeners in the spirit.

Released at 45.2% with no added sugar, it opens vegetal and woody with a thread of caramel and citrus, then drinks round and savoury with clear sugar-cane character before a roasted, warm, citrus-edged finish. The name nods to its oddity, and it does run drier and less overtly fruity than the easy reading of a young blanc might suggest, rewarding a little patience in the glass. A natural base for a Ti' Punch, it also holds up to slow neat sipping for those who like their cane on the austere side.