Rhum Depaz Vieux Plantation (70cl, 45%)

Rhum Depaz Vieux Plantation is an aged rhum agricole from Distillerie Depaz at La Montagne, Saint-Pierre, Martinique, at the foot of Mount Pelée. It is made from fresh sugarcane juice grown on the estate and estate-distilled in a traditional column still, then aged a minimum of three years in oak barrels under AOC Martinique rules. The Depaz estate traces its roots to the 1600s; the distillery was destroyed by the 1902 Mount Pelée eruption and rebuilt by Victor Depaz in 1917. It remains one of Martinique's historic estate distilleries. Retailer-corroborated notes describe deep golden/amber colour, with vanilla, tobacco and fresh coffee on the nose, dry oak, prunes, vanilla and cinnamon with black pepper on the palate, and a saline, banana finish.