SAMPAN Classic White Rum 54% (Vietnam)

Volume: 0.7 litres | Alcohol content: 54% | Chill filtration: No | Colouring: No

Special Features:

Fresh sugarcane juice forms the basis of this white rum from Vietnam. The cane comes from local farms in Quảng Nam province, is harvested by hand and reaches the distillery on the day it is cut. After prompt pressing and fermentation, the juice is distilled in a French copper column still. The overproof version is diluted with less water, bringing its bottling strength to 54%.

More than a year separates distillation and bottling for this release: the rum was distilled in August 2019 and bottled in September 2020 as batch 002. It undergoes no cask ageing and is bottled unfiltered. Alongside its pronounced sugarcane character, it reveals peppery, citrus and fermentative facets, complemented by white flowers. The bottle contains 0.7 litres and comes in gift packaging.

Tasting Notes:

• Nose: A full, expressive sugarcane aroma leads on the nose. With air, aromatic pepper and juicy, sweet citrus notes emerge. Finally, an unusual nuance appears, somewhere between Asian seasoning sauce and overripe tropical fruit.
• Palate: The rum feels soft and rounded on the palate. The supple sugarcane note initially unfolds deep on the palate before becoming fresher and livelier. Vegetal and fermentative impressions spread, recalling steamed vegetables with pepper.
• Finish: The pure flavour of ripe sugarcane returns gently on the finish.

Distillery/Bottler:

Distillerie d'Indochine lies around 15 kilometres south of Hội An, between the coast and the sugarcane fields of central Vietnam. Antoine, Ian and Julien founded it in 2018. Under the SAMPAN brand, the distillery combines Vietnamese sugarcane with French distillation technology. The name refers to a traditional Southeast Asian boat, which also adorns the bottles.

Collaboration with the surrounding sugarcane growers begins in the fields: plants are selected according to defined criteria, and chemical treatments and pesticides are excluded. Short transport distances allow the hand-harvested cane to be pressed within a day. Antoine Poircuitte, who comes from a family of fruit distillers, is responsible for distillation and for ageing those rums intended for maturation. The distillery uses a column still made entirely of copper in France.

Facts: