Longueteau Papillon American Touch

Longueteau, founded in 1895, is the oldest family owned agricole distillery still running in Guadeloupe, and its Papillon American Touch is a young rhum from fresh pressed sugarcane juice finished with ex-bourbon American oak. It is column distilled and bottled unsweetened at 45%, around eighteen months old, so the wood is meant to season rather than dominate a still youthful spirit.

The nose shows the bourbon barrel influence with vanilla, cinnamon and bitter orange, but the palate is sharper and rawer, with young wood, vanilla, an acidic edge and a pungent, spirit forward bite. The finish stays pungent. This is an agricole caught early in its development, where the American oak adds vanilla sweetness on the nose but the spirit underneath is still green and assertive. It rewards a drop of water and suits drinkers who like their cane juice rhum young, dry and characterful, or who want a vigorous base for a Ti Punch rather than a polished sipper.