Poisson Père Labat Poséidon 2007

Poisson Pere Labat Poseidon is an aged agricole from the Poisson distillery on Marie-Galante, the small Guadeloupean island whose cane-juice rums have a devoted following. Pere Labat is a reputed small-batch house, and this is a fifteen year old vieux distilled from fresh-pressed sugarcane juice, a serious age for tropically matured cane rum.

Long ageing in ex-bourbon oak has built real depth without losing the agricole identity: the nose carries woody sweetness, vanilla, sugarcane and caramel, while the palate stays balanced and dry, citrus and dried fruit threading through toasted oak. Maturing in the Caribbean heat means heavy angel's share and faster extraction, so fifteen years here shows the polish of something considerably older grown in a cooler climate. It drinks neat as a contemplative pour, the cane core still legible beneath the wood at 54%.