RA Rum 2017

Rum Artesanal, the German house bottling in the unsweetened full-proof tradition, selected this single cask of Mauritian rum, distilled from molasses on a column still and laid in ex-bourbon. As a single-barrel, cask-strength release it is firmly a sipper's bottling, presented dry and without dosage, the kind of transparent selection the bottler is known for.

Drawn at nearly eight years and bottled at 56.5% with no added sugar, it leans lean and woody, the nose offering young wood and vanilla over a thin, vegetal frame. The palate stays dry with more young oak, vanilla and a grassy, almost agricole touch, finishing on yellow fruit and a slightly diluted feel. This is a quiet, restrained rum rather than a big tropical one, more about clean dryness than body or fireworks. It suits focused neat sipping and comparison flights for drinkers who like spare, unsweetened island column-still rum.