Mauritius Rum

Mauritian rum is not one style but three, made side by side: smooth, aged molasses rum, led by New Grove from Grays, fresh-juice agricole from Chamarel and Saint Aubin, grassy and bright, and the local rhum arrange. That range, from polished sipping rum to vibrant cane juice, is the island's signature.

A small but serious scene: Grays, Chamarel, Saint Aubin, Medine and Labourdonnais. Grays is the island's biggest producer, the house behind New Grove, the best-known Mauritian rum brand, and Lazy Dodo. Chamarel is the postcard agricole distillery in the island's south, Saint Aubin works a historic sugar estate, and Medine is home of the premium Penny Blue. Together they make Mauritius one of the most complete rum islands in the Indian Ocean. Beyond its everyday bottles, Grays also makes more characterful releases such as the New Grove Emotion, where the community's tasting notes find vanilla, fruit, oak and dark chocolate.

The aged molasses rums like New Grove neat or over ice, the agricoles from Chamarel and Saint Aubin in a Ti Punch or a daiquiri, where their fresh cane brightness carries the drink, and the fruit-steeped rhum arrange cold as an easy after-dinner sip. To find your way in, start with a soft New Grove for the smooth side, then explore a Chamarel or Saint Aubin agricole for the bright, grassy face of the island.