Poisson Père Labat Single Cask 2004

Distillerie Poisson bottles this Pere Labat single cask from the 2004 vintage, a cane juice rum from Marie Galante reduced to a comfortable 45%. Distilled from fresh-pressed sugar cane juice, it shows the more polished, fruit-forward face of the island's agricole rather than the high-proof blanc style.

Distilled on column in the house manner and given long tropical ageing, it has developed real depth: honey, wood, roasted notes and coffee on the nose, a palate of oak, dark chocolate, cinnamon and roasted character, and a finish of oak, cigar and raisin. A creamy apple and orchard-fruit quality runs alongside the herbal, grassy agricole core, which gives it a dessert-like roundness without piling on sweetness. The moderate strength keeps it easy to sip slowly. A balanced, characterful single cask for unwinding over an evening, and a fine showcase of aged Marie Galante cane juice.