William Hinton 6 Year Old Madeira Rum

While most rum hails from the Caribbean and South America this one comes from the other side of the Atlantic from the island of Madeira where sugar cane has also been grown for hundreds of years. This is an 'Agricole Rum', made directly from fermented and distilled sugar cane rather than the more usual molasses. For this limited edition rum a mix of ex-port, madeira, bourbon, sherry and brandy casks have been usd to impart a range of really complex flavours. Alongside the vanilla oakiness are sweet chocolate hints and rich dried fruits to which a citrus crispness adds a nice clean balance. A rich and rewarding sipping rum.

Madeira is known mainly for its eponymous fortified wine. What's maybe less well known is that they've also grown sugar cane there for hundreds of years making it suitable place for making rum as well. In the mid-nineteenth century Englishman William Hinton, a sugar exporter, established a distillery there to do just that. In fact, most of it was used to fortify Maderia wine, but when that practice ceased in the 1980's so did the sale of rum as a spirit. However, in 2006 a new distillery was opened to re-introduce the island's distinctive style of rum. The type made is known as 'Agricole Rum' meaning that it's distilled from fermented cane juice rather than molasses which give a slightly different flavour profile with grassy note and up front fruitiness among the characteristics.