Barbosa Amado & Vicente is an artisanal grogue from Cape Verde.
The sugar cane is harvested on the Monte Negro distillery's own land, and fermented using wild yeasts.
The toddy is distilled in a copper still heated over an open fire.
Nico's tasting notes
On the nose, the sweetness that greets us is quite wonderful. We get the impression of a silky rum, while sensing a real aromatic concentration. The herbs (basil) are velvety, the fruit very ripe (tomato, mango), and the cane brandy seems to have just come out of the still.
Aeration sees the cane juice reduced as if it had been cooked, developing aromas of muscovado sugar or even battery syrup. The wilder, more animal notes are muted, just there to support the rum.
On the palate, the attack is gentle, even restrained. The cane is delicately herbaceous and spicy, with a lovely, nuanced bitterness. Pepper and herbs melt into a light syrup that flatters the tongue. The fruit, meanwhile, also expresses itself delicately, embracing the vegetal side of the cane.
The finish is fairly light, although the slightly fermented bagasse and pepper linger for a long time.
"A lovely cane brandy, with a nose that you could contemplate and forget the notion of time..."
