Takamaka debuts Le Clos Napa Laz

Seychelles brand Takamaka has added to its limited edition Le Clos series with a blend of 100% unaged local sugarcane rums.

Just 408 bottles of Napa Laz will be available in France, Belgium, Slovakia, Germany, the UK, Italy, Latvia, Sweden, Poland, Hungary, Netherlands and Spain from this month. The rum is made entirely with non-hybrid sugarcane varieties sourced from farmers local to the Trois Freres Distillery distillery in the Seychelles, which installed two new stills last year. The new release is first distilled in a 1,000-litre still for its initial distillation and then refined in a 450-litre still. The brand says the latter still allows it to ‘customise the distillation process, utilising the adjustable copper column on the smaller still to experiment with different settings and fine-tune the flavours, controlling the temperature during fermentation and distilling the wash with all its natural yeast remnants’. Around 16.5% of the rum blend is taken from the ‘heart’ of the distillate, with the ‘heads’ and ‘tails’ from 2023 and 2022’s harvest being redistilled to create what the brand calls a ‘third heart’. The rum’s ABV is reduced to 53.4% using the distillery’s spring water source. As with other rums in the Le Clos range, Napa Laz is free from additives and added sugar and is not charcoal- or chill-filtered. Takamaka co-founder Bernard d’Offay said: “Craftsmanship and curiosity is at the core of everything we do here at Takamaka, and our Le Clos series is where we really challenge ourselves to push the boundaries and allow our palates to guide us in new and exciting directions. “The creation of Le Clos Napa Laz has been a journey in exploring this curiosity and we are proud to deliver this exceptional liquid to the world and showcase everything Seychellois rum can be.”