ReimonenQ Rhum Vieux Réserve 2013

ReimonenQ is a Guadeloupe agricole distillery, and this Rhum Vieux Reserve carries a 2013 vintage aged six years before release. It is made from fresh-pressed sugarcane juice rather than molasses, in the agricole tradition Guadeloupe shares with Martinique though under the looser island IGP rather than the Martinique AOC.

Distilled through a column still in the house style and matured in ex-bourbon oak, the years in wood give a fruity, woody nose with banana and a smooth lift, a palate of oak, gentle spice, ripe fruit and vanilla, and an elegant finish. At 40% it is rounded and easy rather than powerful, with the cane core softened by ageing. There is no claimed added sugar. This is an approachable, well-mannered aged agricole for unhurried neat drinking, the kind of bottle that rewards patience over a long evening.