Neisson Rhum Blanc 52.5% - Agricole from Martinique - 700ml
If the 50% Neisson is the spirit of Martinique at dawn, clean, cool, and contemplative, then the 52.5% bottling is the sun at full tilt: hotter, louder, bursting with life. This is the connoisseur's blanc agricole. Slightly bolder in strength, vastly more expressive in character, and bottled at the distiller's preferred proof, this is Neisson's signature voice, uncensored.
You are holding 700ml of unaged rum with soul, straight from the tiny, beloved family run distillery in Le Carbet. Neisson has never been about mass production. They are guardians of craft, working with 100% fresh cane juice from their estate and surrounding volcanic fields, fermented slow, and distilled with surgical precision through their creole copper column still. And here, at 52% ABV, they hit the sweet spot for flavor and structure.
The nose? A garden in riot. Fresh pressed cane juice, bruised mint, lime leaf, and white pepper all leap out of the glass. There is sea air too, saline and wild, chased by tropical florals and a hint of eucalyptus. Let it breathe, and the bouquet shifts: raw honey, lemongrass, maybe a whisper of pink grapefruit. It is a scent that demands your attention.
On the palate, it is alive. A rollercoaster of green vegetal intensity, dry minerality, and citrus oil. There is weight, but no heaviness, a muscular grace. Flavors evolve from grassy to herbal to spicy, with flashes of stone, white fruit, and bitter lime zest. The finish is long, dry, and crackling with terroir.
This is not your beach bar rum. It is agricole at its most vivid. Best enjoyed in traditional Martinican fashion: Ti' Punch, lime peel (not juice), raw cane syrup, and Neisson, stirred to taste. It is a drink that changes by the sip, the weather, the time of day. Some call it the Martini of the Caribbean, and this rum is its grand cru.
But do not stop there. Use it in a Daiquiri and you will see how it can outshine rums twice its age. Try it in a Caipirinha style serve, or even swap it into a Margarita template for a thrilling agricole riff. This 52.5% blanc has the power to cut through citrus, sugar, and ice, but also the elegance to be sipped neat, especially with a chilled water back.
Compared to the 50% bottling, this 52.5% has a rounder mouthfeel and a bit more lift in the aromatics. It is subtle, but seasoned agricole drinkers know, this is the one. The expression that bartenders in Fort de France reach for. The proof chosen not for marketing, but for mouthfeel. A rare case where more alcohol means more everything, not just heat, but harmony.
If you are already in love with clairin, Yaguara cachaca, or unaged mezcal, Neisson Blanc 52.5% will feel like a kindred spirit. It is agricultural in the truest sense, earthy, energetic, alive. A beautiful chaos in a bottle.
This is not just rum. This is rum before rum became rum. Fermented cane, distilled fire, and the heartbeat of Martinique. Drink it with reverence. Drink it with lime. Drink it with friends who get it.
