Manikou (Edition limitée)

Manikou Edition Limitée is a limited island blend, described by its makers as an experimental hybrid, a marriage of rums from different origins assembled to form a pleasant whole rather than to showcase any single distillery. Carrying no age statement and bottled at a sturdy 55%, it leans into a tropical, estery character.

The nose is fruity and aromatic, tropical fruit, banana and pineapple lifted by a clear ester note, with a floral and lightly smoky edge underneath. The palate turns sweeter with sugar, candied fruit and sugarcane over tropical fruit, and the finish brings tannins, more ester and a return of banana, with a faint medicinal, almost Cointreau-like quality. The 55% is well integrated for the strength. It is a characterful, fruit-driven experiment that does not take itself too seriously, an interesting blend for those who enjoy estery tropical funk in an unconventional package.