FAIR Rum Belize XO

Nose : both round and lively. Medicinal (ricin, mustard plaster), fruity (pear, white currants) and salty. Spiced (clove, nutmeg), it gains in power before becoming empyreumatic (thuja, essential oil) and intensely vanilla-flavoured. Delicate citrus fruits (mandarin, kumquat) serve to beautifully punctuate the aromatic palette.

Palate : heady, powerful. Initially it seems as if the palate is a carbon copy of the nose. Yet gradually, quietly and with a healthy helping of gourmand flair, it reveals its fruity (apricot, peach, melon) and patisserie (crème brûlée, sponge cake) side.

Overall : long, oily. Boasting a tannic fruitiness (peach skin, citrus fruit zest), it also has an earthy side (gentian root). It develops notes of tuberose, clove and dahlia. The retronasal olfaction is spiced and almost chili-like (Cayenne pepper). Once empty, the glass is divinely chocolatey.