I'm always suspicious when someone says a rum can "do it all". But honestly, maybe HSE VSOP can do it all.

Habitation Saint-Étienne (HSE) is a Martinique distillery that doesn’t see many of its bottles end up on US shelves; in fact, while their lineup boasts a diversity of blancs, aged agricoles, and a variety of cask finishes, the VSOP was their only expression I was able to source for our big aged agricole tasting.

While the origin story of the HSE brand is often dated back to 1882, the year a preexisting sugar refinery “La Maguée” (which is apparently French for “La Maugée”) was sold to Amédée Aubéry, the first owner to distill at the estate, however there wasn’t any rum being produced there until the following year. Amédée kept at it until after the turn of the century in 1909 when the distillery changed hands to the Simonnet family. The distillery continued to produce rum until 1988, when it ceased operation. The bottle we’re reviewing today was actually distilled at Distillerie du Simon, which picked up the brand, and the original distillery in 1994. So let’s get back to the bottle.

We measured a density of 0.939/cc and a refractive index of 1.3569, indicating no additives, and in line with the requirements for the Martinique Rhum Agricole AOC.

HSE VSOP is fruity on the nose, maybe one of the fruitiest agricoles in the lineup. We’re mostly talking apple and apricot, but there’s a touch of grape must in there as well. There’s also a nice vanilla note, and some typical agricole grassiness. The palate is quite sweet, but the apple-vanilla sweetness is counterbalanced by a distinct pepperiness. The finish is about what you’d expect at 45% ABV, bringing out a bit more of the wood than just pepper; nothing crazy, but pleasant and balanced.

In our blind taste test we thought it was good as a neat sipper (7.6/10) and great as a mixer (8.2/10). A lot of the agricoles we’ve tasted have fallen into one of a couples niches: approachable enough to be someone’s first agricole, a solid cocktail workhorse, or an interesting enough flavor bomb to hold the attention of nerds. The interesting thing about HSE VSOP is that it manages to do all of those things pretty well. I wouldn’t be afraid to share this with a friend new to rum, it performs great in a 1944-style Mai Tai, and it’s got enough complexity to be worth nosing in a snifter.

The Superficial: A solid bottle; while the label design isn’t my favorite, the wooden stopper an natural cork make popping this one open fun.