Saint Aubin Coeur de Chauffe

Coeur de chauffe names the heart of the distillation, the middle cut taken once the harsher heads and tails are set aside, and Saint Aubin draws this one from fresh pressed sugar cane juice on Mauritius. The island makes cane juice rum in the agricole manner but cannot use the protected French term, so this reads as an agricole style blanc, unaged and built to show raw cane character.

The nose is floral and earthy with a green, vegetal lift and a hint of fruit, while the palate turns to citrus and lime over the grassy cane base, the freshness and snap that define a good blanc. At 40% it sits on the lighter, gentler side and some drinkers will want more punch, the cane juice intensity that higher proof blancs deliver. Taken on its own terms it is a clean, easy going pour, and it slips naturally into a Ti Punch with lime and a little cane syrup.