Kikusui Shuzo Ryoma Rhum Japonais

Kikusui Shuzo Ryoma is a Japanese rum distilled from fresh sugar cane juice, agricole in approach though the label cannot use that protected term outside the French islands. Made by a sake producer and rested in ex-bourbon oak, it carries the fingerprints of its maker as much as of the cane, which is exactly what makes it interesting.

The profile leans vegetal and sake-like rather than tropical: grassy sugarcane, a floral and herbal lift, a little wood, and a vegetal, lemony, faintly chocolatey finish, often likened to shochu as much as to classic rum. It drinks light and a touch sweet, soft at 40%, more a gentle oddity than a textbook cane spirit. It rewards the drinker who enjoys sake, shochu and agricole and likes exploring the edges, while anyone after a rich molasses rum should look elsewhere.