Buy Penny Blue

Penny Blue is the rum label of the Medine estate on the west coast of Mauritius, one of the island’s oldest sugar operations. The name nods to the “Blue Penny”, a rare local postage stamp, and the branding leans on that collector’s angle. Reviewers who know Mauritian rum tend to place it alongside estate-driven producers like Chamarel rather than the big blended houses.

Production is molasses-based and column-and-pot distilled, then aged in the tropical climate, which speeds maturation and explains the intense wood many tasters flag. The flagship XO is a blend bottled at 42.2% with no added sugar, a point the community returns to repeatedly. Above it sit single casks and rare cask releases, several finished or fully matured in ex-sherry, oloroso in particular, issued in small numbers through independent importers.

On the palate the XO reads as dry and classic: molasses and brown sugar on the nose, then oak, clove, baking spice and a peppery prickle, with a medium finish that fades fairly quickly and can turn slightly bitter. The sherry single casks go richer, dried fruit, raisin, cherry, chocolate, leather and roasted spice, though one reviewer warned the cask can dominate and flatten the rum’s own signature. A distinctive mint-oil note turns up in the older single casks.

Most people drink the XO neat as an affordable daily pour, and it holds up over ice or mixed with cola without losing its spice. The single and rare casks are slow sippers for an evening when you want more concentration. If you want to buy Penny Blue or read more, the XO is the easy entry point and the sherry casks the collector’s targets.