Rum Nation Versailles Small Batch Rare Rums 2007

This 2007 Versailles sits in Rum Nation's Rare Rums tier, the Italian house's unsweetened, full strength line, distinct from its softer dosed bottlings. Versailles ran on a single wooden pot still, the VSG marque that lands between Enmore and Port Mourant, robust and tannic with raw wood and dark fruit. At seventeen years this is a dry, characterful single cask rather than an easy crowd pleaser.

Molasses based and matured in ex-bourbon oak, it noses on smoke, medicinal notes, wood and mint, then turns floral, dry and smoky on the palate with a peaty edge that pushes it toward the more challenging end of the style. The finish is warm, woody and roasted. Bottled at 58.2% and unsweetened, it shows the assertive, polarising side of the Versailles still, where the smoke and medicinal character can take over from the fruit. One for drinkers who like their Demerara dry, smoky and full proof.