Rum Nation Ilha da 2015

Rum Nation, the Italian house known for regional bottlings with a tropical and European ageing signature, sourced this Ilha da from Madeira, where cane-juice rum qualifies for the agricole term alongside the French islands. The 2015 is a three year old finished in Madeira wine casks, a fitting local marriage, bottled at an approachable 42%.

Distilled on a column still from fresh sugarcane juice, it lands between the grassy snap of a true blanc and the softness of an aged molasses rum. The nose is fruity and citric with oak and a faint rubbery note, the palate woody and dry with herbal grass and cane, the finish carrying citrus, spice and a vegetal edge. The Madeira cask lends a gentle sweetness and a touch of bitterness on the close. The added-sugar status is unstated, and it reads more between styles than purist, easy enough neat or mixed for someone moving from molasses toward cane.