Rivière du Mât Arrangé – Vanille des Tropiques

This Vanille des Tropiques is an arrange from Riviere du Mat on Reunion, a flavoured rum rather than a dry agricole, built on a molasses base distilled on a column still and infused with vanilla. Bottled at just 35%, it sits firmly in liqueur territory, and there is no pretending otherwise: this is a sweet, vanilla-led pour, not a complex aged rum.

The nose is all vanilla with honey, toffee and a sweet lift, the palate sugary and creamy with vanilla and toffee carrying a faintly medicinal edge, the finish sweet and short. It is easygoing and simple by design, at its best served very cold or used in desserts and simple cocktails where the vanilla sweetness is welcome. A drinker after dryness or depth should look elsewhere, but as a soft, sweet vanilla treat it does exactly what it sets out to do.