Saint Aubin Spiced Rum

Saint Aubin distils on Mauritius from fresh pressed sugar cane juice, agricole in method though the island sits outside the protected French naming, so this is best read as an agricole style base rather than a true AOC rhum. Here that base has been spiced and sweetened into a flavoured rum, the cane character largely set aside in favour of added botanicals and sugar.

Cinnamon dominates throughout, nose and palate alike, backed by nutmeg, orange, almond and a little mace, the overall effect closer to mulled, festive baking than to a dry cane spirit. It is sweet and quite cinnamon forward, enough that the rum underneath gets crowded out, and the finish is almost entirely cinnamon. At 40% and frankly a flavoured, sweetened style, it is built for warm seasonal serves, mulled mixes and cola rather than for neat appraisal, and it makes no pretence of being a purist sipper.