Saint James 1997 Single Cask 15-Year

Visited the Habitation Saint James distillery while vacationing in Martinique. Comprehensive distillery tour with an open tasting bar. Saint James 1997 Single Cask was priced at EUR 60 at the distillery. Nice bottle and label design. Golden color. Dry Rhum Agricole alongside grass and strong oak to the nose and palate. Quite a burn at the end being so dry. Rhum Agricole fan boys can add 2 points to my score.

An interesting product, to be handled with care. It needs to breathe some air to mitigate the alcohol kick. It has to be sip slowly since, even if it’s 20yo it still could have a dry and harsh back kick at the end. First taste on your palate is sweet with caramel and fruit, which then evolve in spice. There’s an interesting smell of oak and leather. It has to be tasted slowly and with small sips to appreciate the variety of flavours and tastes, otherwise the harshness is prevailing. It’s more a 7.5 than a 7.