Spirit Gallery Grays New Grove 100% Tropical 2015

This is a 2015 New Grove distilled at Grays in Mauritius and chosen by the independent bottler Spirit Gallery, a single distillery molasses rum aged ten years and bottled at full cask strength of 60.3%. Mauritian rum sits outside the agricole appellation, so although it shares the tropical island setting it is made from molasses on a column still rather than fresh cane juice, and this one wears its decade of warm island maturation openly.

The spirit is a column distillate raised in ex-bourbon oak, and the heat of tropical ageing shows in the dark caramel, the cassis and blackcurrant edge and the polished wood that runs from nose to finish. The palate turns toward tobacco and brown sugar, while minty freshness and yellow fruit return on the close. It is unsweetened, so the richness here is texture rather than dosage, oily and full bodied at a strength that takes well to a few drops of water and rewards a slow, attentive pour.