Angel's Share Title
In 2015, Mark Reynier founded CaneCo, an agricultural company that established seven sugarcane farms around the island of Grenada. Each one featuring its own unique varietal growing in its own microclimate, reinvigorating the island’s sugarcane production. Once the cane is harvested, it is milled, and the juice is fermented using the company’s proprietary methods. Then the fermented wash is distilled in either a column or pot still before being aged in a combination of virgin or once-used French and American oak barrels. The rum is brought to proof and non-chilled filtered before being bottled. The Cuvee Nova is harvested from cane grown on the east and south coasts of the island on the farms at New Bacolet, Old Bacolet, Pearls, Nursery, Westerhall, and Hope. The rum is a blend of pot and column still rum and is aged for 659 days in both French and American oak and bottled at 46% ABV. The company does not use any additives, coloring, sweeteners, or chilled filtering processes with their products.
Appearance
The 700-ml short-necked, curved bottle has a clear security wrap that holds a glass cap with a unique plastic seal. The front label provides basic information about the rum, but the back label delivers a treasure trove of information with a link to their Cane Code system. I entered the code on the bottom of the rum and found additional details about the rum blend. The color of the rum holds a golden amber color in the bottle and glass. Swirling the liquid creates a medium band that quickly thickens and releases a few waves of legs before beading up and evaporating.
Nose
The aroma of the rum has a swirl of fruit and spice notes that is lovely in its complexity. During the evaluation, I discovered notes of grilled pineapple, fresh apricots and melons, allspice, sweet cane, and tropical flowers.
Palate
The first sip of the rum is as complicated as the initial nosing of the aroma. The alcohol conditions the palate with a swirl of newly made caramel, taking on the high notes. The honeyed apricots, fresh cane, and grilled pineapple take the midline, while the baseline forms with flavor notes of allspice, chocolate-covered coffee beans, baking spices, and charred oak notes. These flavors merge into a nice, long, complex finish.
Review
When I heard about a new state-of-the art distillery being built on Grenada, I was intrigued by how they would differentiate themselves from the other rum companies long established on the island. This is the first rum I have had from them, and I found it to be wonderfully complex, from the aroma to the last sip. While easy to sip, it is excellent in an Old Fashioned and Sidecar. For an immature rum, I was truly impressed with the flavor profile the blenders created with this product and look forward to sharing it at tasting events in the future.
