Saint Aubin Rivière des Créoles White Rum

This is the white counterpart to Saint Aubin's Rivière des Créoles, an unaged Mauritian rum distilled from fresh-pressed sugar-cane juice. It is agricole in spirit rather than name, since the protected term belongs to the French islands, and it is bottled high at 59.2% in the manner of a serious blanc.

The nose is all fresh cane, with litchi, floral notes and white pepper, while the palate keeps the sugar-cane sap front and centre alongside tropical fruit and a peppery kick. The finish stays fresh and oily with a touch of eucalyptus. This is cane juice in its rawest, most expressive form, vivid and snappy rather than sweet, and the high proof is a feature rather than a flaw. Drinkers who enjoy clairin-style or high-proof cane spirit will find it familiar, equally at home sipped neat or built into a Ti' Punch or cocktail.