Mana'o is a pure organic cane juice rum from French Polynesia.
It's made from the ancestral Otahiti variety of cane, considered one of the world's best, and in fact the main cane grown worldwide in the 19th century before its decline in the face of more profitable hybrid sugar cane.
The cane is fermented close to where it is harvested, i.e. on the Toahotu plateau (Tahiti's peninsula) or on Taha'a, an island opposite the Bora Bora lagoon.
The must is then transported to Tahiti to be distilled in a batch still. When it leaves the still, the rum has a strength of 89°. It is then reduced slowly so as not to “break” the aromas.
This is a tasting rum to be drunk as is.
Laurent's tasting notes
Its color is translucent.
On the nose, Mana'o gives us the impression of having a sugar cane in front of us, with its fruity, vegetal and gourmand side. While the primary aroma is of course fresh cane juice, there's none of the great freshness found in other white agricultural tasting rums. This is more than made up for by the secondary aromas of pepper, flowers and an organic feel.
On the palate, the alcohol is present but well balanced. Here, the freshness appears on a citrus register and we have a very different profile from the nose. Pepper is still present and even becomes spicy, while fresh cane, very slightly sweet, takes us far away.
The finish is long, even if its intensity drops fairly quickly. Pepper makes an appearance, while the citrus continues to build in strength.
"Tahiti offers us here a white rum pure cane juice of great quality, enough to make us want to see what this archipelago will have to offer us in the years to come..."
