Rum, Japan

The rums crafted by Yoshiharu Takeuchi, founder of the Nine Leaves distillery, are aged either in a warehouse where temperatures fluctuate dramatically with the seasons, or in a former abandoned mine whose high humidity and cool conditions echo those of a traditional Scottish dunnage warehouse. Impressive, original, baroque, vibrant, generous, timeless, poetic, these are just some of the words that aptly describe this extraordinary bottling, whose aromatic and flavour profile invites us to explore truly unfamiliar territory.

Nose: Deep and expansive. Absolutely stunning, the nose unfolds with elegance through medicinal (bandage), noble spice (cardamom, saffron), fruity (blood orange, roasted mango), terpenic (lava) and autumnal (grilled walnuts and chestnuts) notes of remarkable intensity. With aeration, it ventures into even more mature registers, dominated by fig, incense, cocoa powder and Havana cigar.

Appearance: Burnt sienna.

Palate: Rich and suave. On the attack, pine resin, burnt cane sugar, and striking notes of asphalt and camphor highlight the bold personality of the flavour profile. Saline, liquorice-like and mineral (black liquorice), it gradually becomes more powdery, earthy, and oriental (curry, turmeric).

Overall: Dense and full-bodied. Evoking with uncanny realism the sensation of chewing on a liquorice stick, it then reveals sandalwood and incense notes that lend a mystical dimension. Remarkably fresh, the retro-olfaction is a perfect pretext for a sip of cardamom tea. The empty glass, meanwhile, is balsamic (cedar, pine, Vosges candy).