Velier Nine Leaves Sherry Pedro Ximénez 2020

This 2020 Nine Leaves was selected by Velier, the Genoese house behind rum's most collectible names, and matured in a Pedro Ximenez sherry cask. It is a single cask from the small Japanese pot still distillery, aged five years and bottled at a powerful 60 percent, an experimental, sherry driven release for focused tasting rather than casual pours.

The PX cask leads strongly, layering dark dried fruit over the molasses spirit. The nose shows citrus, oak, fruit and anise, the palate turns to citrus, spice, vegetal and sherry notes, and the finish carries citrus, oak, spice and raisin, with prune, herbal sugarcane and a faint sake character running underneath over dry oak and spice. The sherry can verge on dominant, and the cask strength keeps it intense, so it rewards time and water. It is a complex, polarising single cask best suited to drinkers who enjoy sherry forward, high proof rum and Nine Leaves at its most experimental.