Velier Bielle Rhum Rhum Libération 2010 2007

Velier Bielle Rhum Rhum Liberation is a cane-juice rum from the Bielle distillery on Marie-Galante, part of the Rhum Rhum project and bottled by Velier. Distilled in 2007 from fresh-pressed cane juice and aged three years, it arrives at an approachable 45%, gentler than many full-proof releases from the house.

Unusually for agricole it is distilled on a pot still rather than a column, which lends extra weight under the trademark citrus-and-cane brightness. Matured in ex-bourbon oak with a wine-cask nuance, it shows vanilla, fresh citrus, floral cane and fine wood, turning peppery and lightly syrupy on a dry finish. The result is fresh and refined, carrying more nuance and balance than its modest age would suggest, and it drinks easily neat at this very manageable strength.