La Confrérie du Rhum HSE XO (Cuvée No. 22) 2016

This HSE XO was selected by La Confrerie du Rhum as Cuvee No. 22, a 2016 distilled at Distillerie du Simon in Martinique. Made from fresh pressed sugar cane juice on a Creole column still under the island's AOC, it is aged seven and a half years across young ex-bourbon casks and bottled unsweetened at a cask strength of 48.2% that stays remarkably easy to drink.

The spirit keeps the grassy, vegetal cane DNA of HSE while the bourbon oak adds comfort, with wood, vanilla and caramel wrapping around dark chocolate, red fruit and a juicy, lightly smoky cane note. Burnt sugar, sugarcane and a faint saline edge round out the finish, dry as the appellation demands. Tropical ageing has done a lot in seven years, drawing real depth from relatively young barrels. The result is a flavourful, well balanced agricole that makes a natural next bottle for anyone moving up from softer entry styles.