Savanna Traditionnel – Série kraft 2009

This Serie Kraft bottling comes from Savanna on Reunion, and it sits in the distillery's traditional, molasses based family rather than its cane juice agricole or its high ester Grand Arome. The 2009 vintage carries nine years of largely tropical ageing and arrives at cask strength, a robust 49.9% that gives its fruit real concentration.

Maturation in Cognac casks shapes the rum's character, layering a soft brandy note over orchard and tropical fruit. The nose is elegant and mellow with overripe banana, pear and peach drifting into dried fruit, while the palate turns woody and fruity with that Cognac influence to the fore, closing on oak, tannins and a faint bitterness. It is one of the more refined molasses Savannas, an unsweetened, fruit driven sipper for drinkers who enjoy wine cask finishes and the distillery's expressive house style.