Valinch & Mallet Epris Traditional Rum 2011

This Valinch and Mallet bottling is cachaca, not rum, made in Brazil from fresh pressed, fermented sugar cane juice rather than molasses, the hard line that separates the category from most of the spirits beside it on the shelf. Drawn from the Epris distillery as a single cask and bottled unsweetened at cask strength, this 2011 vintage spent thirteen years maturing, here in ex bourbon oak rather than the native Brazilian woods cachaca is often known for. The result is a drier, more europeanised expression than the caipirinha workhorse most associate with the category.

At 52.1% it leans floral and faintly agricole like, the grassy, vegetal core of cane juice showing through apricot, citrus and light chocolate, with coffee and nuttiness from the wood. The finish stays woody and grassy with a nutty chocolate edge. With no added sugar, the sweetness is all fruit and cane, and the bottle is known to shift markedly after a few weeks open, picking up softer, riper notes. It is a fun, evolving side step for anyone who enjoys semi dry, lightly funky cane spirits.