Manutea Tahiti Vanilla Tahitensis 2017

Vanilla Tahitensis comes from Manutea in French Polynesia, a Tahitian producer working with the islands' prized vanilla. Built on an agricole style cane juice base and infused with vanilla, this is a flavoured rum that puts its single defining note unmistakably at the centre.

Lightly rested in ex-bourbon wood and bottled at 45%, it carries a grassy, agricole character underneath, but the dominant impression is sheer vanilla, intense and, for many tasters, distinctly artificial. Caramel and a little oak fill out the finish, while the cane derived grassiness keeps a vegetal edge. Reactions are sharply divided, with some finding the vanilla overwhelming to the point of being hard to finish. This is a bottle strictly for dedicated vanilla lovers who want that flavour turned up to its fullest, rather than anyone seeking a balanced or dry agricole, and it is best approached as a sweet, novelty leaning flavoured rum.