Poisson Père Labat 40

Poisson, on Marie-Galante, makes the well-regarded Pere Labat range, more often bottled at its punchier 59%. This 40% expression is the softer, more diluted version, made from fresh-pressed sugarcane juice rather than molasses, in the agricole style the island shares with Martinique.

Run through a creole column to preserve grassy, vegetal character, it offers a herbal nose of grass, citrus and flowers with a touch of cinnamon, a dry, floral, grassy palate, and a herbal finish with a little vanilla. Honestly, at this strength it reads light and a touch watery for neat drinking, and the cane snap that defines the house comes through more clearly in the higher-proof bottlings. It earns its place instead as a fruity, vegetal cocktail rum, ideal in a Ti Punch or a long mixed drink.