Mezan 2012

Mezan bottles this 2012 Dominican as a ten year old, presented unsweetened in the house's natural, no additives approach. It works the island's amber, vanilla and caramelised nut tradition but in a fuller, more honest form than the sweetened mainstream, distilled from molasses on a column still and aged in ex bourbon wood. The nose is caramel, vanilla and dark chocolate with an underlying sweetness from the spirit and oak.

The palate brings caramelised notes, dried fruit and chocolate, finishing hot, woody and spicy at 46%. With no added sugar, the sweetness reads as natural caramel and dried fruit rather than dosage, and there is real depth here, tropical fruit, coconut, cinnamon and orange filling out an elegant wood and spice frame. It drinks as a richer, more characterful Dominican for those who want the island's flavour without the syrup, a rounded, authentic sipper that holds together well neat.