V&B Depaz Single Cask 2002

Depaz distils at the foot of Mont Pelee in northern Martinique, where volcanic soil and a long agricole heritage shape the cane. This single cask, a 2002 vintage selected by V and B, draws on fresh-pressed sugar-cane juice distilled on a creole column and bottled unsweetened at 46%.

With age the grassy cane core has dried and deepened into a woody, mature profile: dried fruit, tobacco, black pepper and a thread of orchard apple, closing on burnt, faintly bitter oak. This is the dry, spice-forward direction that aged Martinique agricole takes, far from the sweet caramel of dosed rum, and the single-cask bottling keeps it honest and unblended. At 46% it carries enough weight to show its structure while staying composed. A characterful Depaz for drinkers who value terroir, oak and a properly dry French-island profile.