Poisson Père Labat Brut de colonne

Pere Labat is a small, well-reputed Marie-Galante distillery, and this Brut de Colonne is its blanc bottled straight off the still at full strength, in the island tradition of high-proof whites. It is distilled from fresh-pressed sugar cane juice on a creole column run low to keep the grassy congeners, cane character shown utterly raw.

At 70.7% the strength is fierce, yet the spirit is surprisingly precise rather than rough. The nose is vegetal and floral with fresh sugarcane and grass, the palate intense and cane-driven with citrus and white pepper, and the finish fresh, peppery and warming with a vegetal core. Unsweetened and uncompromising, it is built for Ti' Punch, where a small measure carries enormous cane flavour, and rewards careful slow sipping, ideally frappe over ice to tame the heat.