Takamaka Le Clos Ex Palo Cortado

Le Clos is Takamaka’s small batch series built around tight cask selection and higher strength bottling, produced at Trois Frères Distillery on Mahé in the Seychelles. This expression uses a finishing period in ex Palo Cortado casks, taking a mature rum base and layering in seasoned wine cask character with extra depth and structure. Bottling at 56.2% ABV preserves intensity and texture, carrying the oak and cask derived aromatics with clarity.

The defining driver is the Palo Cortado cask itself. Palo Cortado sits between Amontillado and Oloroso in style, so its casks tend to contribute a combination of nutty aldehydic tones, dried fruit depth and seasoned wood spice. During finishing, ethanol pulls vanillin, toasted lignin fragments and oak lactones into solution, while the seasoned cask layer contributes oxidative notes that read as walnut, roasted nuts, dried citrus peel and dark cocoa. The result is a rum where wood chemistry and spirit weight are front and centre.

On the nose you can expect toasted oak, walnut, dry sherry character, vanilla and dark caramel. The palate brings oak spice, nutty depth, cocoa, and a peppery warmth that builds through the mid palate. The finish is long and structured, with seasoned oak, roasted nuts and lingering spice carrying through to the end.