Rum Nation Engenho Novo Small Batch Rare Rums 2009

Engenho Novo distils in Madeira, one of the few regions outside the French islands permitted the term rhum agricole, working from fresh pressed sugar cane juice. This single cask from Rum Nation's Rare Rums line, the bottler's dry, undosed tier, carries ten years and arrives at cask strength, a vivid 52% drawn from the 2009 vintage.

Maturation and a Madeira cask finish pull the rum in a sour, vinous direction that sets it apart. The nose is striking and a little unusual, lemon, sour cherry and dried fruit over a fruit schnapps note, and the palate stays dry and citrusy with red wine character and firm oak, closing woody, leathery and herbal. The cane juice backbone keeps it lean rather than sweet. It is a distinctive, thought provoking bottling for drinkers who enjoy dry agricole and bold wine cask finishes, good neat or over ice.