Labourdonnais Spiced Gold Rum

Labourdonnais makes this Spiced Gold on Mauritius, and it is exactly what it says: a flavoured, sweetened rum built for easy drinking rather than a dry cane juice sipper. Bottled at 40% with added sugar and spice, it is honest about being a soft, confectionery style.

The base is distilled from sugar cane juice on column, but the character here is driven by sweetening and seasoning rather than distillery or cask. The nose offers plum, prune, cinnamon and warm spice, while the palate is frankly sweet with vanilla, burnt sugar and a syrupy texture. There is a Christmas-cake, orange-and-cinnamon warmth to it that lends itself to mixing. This is not the place to look for grassy agricole snap or barrel-driven complexity; taken on its own terms as a gentle spiced rum, it does its job neat over ice or in a simple cocktail where its sweetness and spice can carry the drink.