La Confrérie du Rhum Longueteau Single Cask XO 2014

This XO is an independent single cask from La Confrerie du Rhum, drawn from Longueteau, the oldest family-owned agricole distillery still running in Guadeloupe. Distilled from fresh sugar-cane juice on a creole column and bottled unsweetened, it is a single cask given the kind of cask-strength treatment that lets the distillery's cane character speak clearly, here from the 2014 vintage.

The creole column keeps the grassy, sappy cane core intact, while a finish in cognac casks layers oak, coffee and cocoa over the fruit. Expect a nose of fresh sugarcane, vanilla and tropical fruit, a palate of cane, wood, coffee and spice, and a dry, oaky finish. At 48.6% it is balanced and refined rather than fierce, an agricole best sipped neat to enjoy how the fresh cane and stone fruit meet the deeper cognac-driven wood.