Le Galion S.B.S French Antilles 2019

Le Galion is the last Martinique distillery making rum from molasses rather than cane juice, and this Grand Arome was selected by the Danish bottler 1423 for its transparent S.B.S Single Barrel Selection. A 2019 single cask aged four years in ex-bourbon oak and bottled unsweetened at 60.3%, it is a funk forward rum that makes no apology for its intensity.

This is a high ester profile in full flight, with solvents and glue, overripe tropical fruit and banana mashing into olives, grapes and a mineral edge on the palate, then herbal, minty and medicinal notes on a warm, tannic finish. The molasses base and long fermentation drive the funk while the cask adds grip rather than sweetness. It belongs squarely with seasoned drinkers who love Grand Arome and high ester Jamaicans and want to push further into wild, medicinal territory, a quirky, fascinating bottle for slow, geeky sipping.