Pere Labat Single Cask 12 Year Old Rum 2009
Pere Labat Single Cask 12 Year Old Rum 2009 is a single cask — brut de fût — rhum agricole vieux from Distillerie Poisson on Marie-Galante, Guadeloupe, distilled in 2009 and aged a full 12 years in one American oak ex-bourbon barrel in the island's tropical climate before bottling in 2021 at cask strength, 61% ABV, in a 700mL bottle. The cask was selected by the PM Spirits team to celebrate the importer's tenth anniversary, and it is the rarest Pere Labat we have ever stocked. It is available to order online at Del Mesa Liquor.
- Proof / ABV: 122 proof (61% ABV, cask strength)
- Style: Single cask rhum agricole vieux, brut de fût
- Age: 12 years
- Vintage: 2009
- Cask: Single American oak ex-bourbon barrel
- Size: 700mL
- Producer: Distillerie Poisson, Marie-Galante
- Origin: Guadeloupe
One Barrel of 2009, Bottled at Full Strength
Poisson is the oldest distillery on Marie-Galante, distilling fresh-pressed estate cane juice on copper Creole columns since the early 1900s. Most of that spirit is drunk young, as blanc; a tiny amount is laid down in bourbon barrels, where twelve Caribbean years cost each cask a heavy share to evaporation and concentrate what remains. This single barrel was bottled exactly as it came from the cask — no reduction, no blending — which is why it anchors our rare and top shelf selection. Set it beside the distillery's blended Hors d'Age 8 Year Old to taste what a single cask at full proof adds, and explore the wider rum collection for more agricole.
Tasting Notes
Vinous, in notes carried by importer PM Spirits, calls the 2009 “soft and delicate, with striking complexity: maraschino cherry, spice, dried flowers, orange peel, leather, cedar, chocolate and sweet toasted oak,” with a strong oak imprint from its twelve tropical years — the power of the young agricole, attenuated and deepened by wood and time.
How to Enjoy
Neat in a tulip glass, rested ten minutes, with a few drops of water added slowly to open the dried flowers and cedar. This is a contemplative pour, not a mixer — save the cocktails for the blancs on our spirits shelves.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does brut de fût mean?
“Straight from the cask” — the rhum is bottled at its natural cask strength of 61% ABV with no water added.
Is it really a single cask?
Yes — one American oak ex-bourbon barrel of 2009 distillate, aged 12 years on Marie-Galante and bottled in 2021.
How is it different from the Hors d'Age 8 Year Old?
The Hors d'Age is a blend of casks bottled at 42% ABV; this is a single vintage barrel at full 61% cask strength.
Who selected it?
The PM Spirits team, to mark the importer's tenth anniversary in 2021.
Order Pere Labat Single Cask 2009 online from Del Mesa Liquor in San Diego, CA — one barrel, bottled once, and gone when it is gone.