In the former French colony of Martinique, now an overseas department, the rum produced is of a completely distinct style distilled from fresh sugarcane juice called rhum agricole. This type of rum has a fresh, grassy and often funky character that’s distinctive and compelling, even aged expressions will often show bright and herbal hints of unprocessed sugarcane.

The history of rhum agricole goes back to the Napoleon years and the loss of French Sainte Domingue, when the loss of imported sugar from the former colony gave rise to France’s beet sugar industry. As a result, in the early 19th Century plantations across the Caribbean closed. With less molasses available to ferment, distillers began distilling the fermented juice from crushed sugar cane, a solution attributed to Homère Clément, whose namesake distillery is still in existence in Martinique today. Rhum agricole became a popular digestif in France when the phylloxera blight of the late 19th century devastated France's vineyards, arriving in Cognac around 1872 and Armagnac in the 1890s and nearly destroying both industries. During WWI rhum agricole was issued to French troops who would have erstwhile enjoyed a brandy with their rations and created an enduring affection that resonated through the generations. Another event that contributed to the rise in popularity of rhum agricole was the 1902 eruption of Mount Pelee This event destroyed the town of Saint-Pierre, claiming the lives of tens of thousands and the destruction of many of the older distilleries and related infrastructure. As these were older plants designed to produce molasses rums, local producers then adapted to work with cane juice and assert themselves in the aftermath. By the 21st Century, bartenders and spirits enthusiasts in France and around the world gave resurgence to vintage cocktail recipes searching for intense flavors. Similar to what was the case with rye whiskey and mezcal, rhum agricole resonated with the new generation of spirit enthusiasts and cocktail drinkers.

Rhum agricole from Martinique holds an Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée (AOC) that enforces stricter standards for its manufacture and bottling than rhum agricole from for example Guadeloupe. Martinique rules for rhum agricole are very detailed, to the extent they even apply to the level of irrigation used in cane fields and the methods for extracting the cane juice. Key factors included in the rues are:

• No additional sugars can be added to cane juice prior to or during fermentation.

• Must be made using a traditional creole column still.

• Maximum distillation strength is 75% ABV.

• Addition of colouring to the finished product is allowed.

• Must be bottled at a minimum strength of 40% ABV.

Rhum Agricole is not exclusive to the French Caribbean islands, agricole rums are made in the Portuguese island of Madeira, Clairin from haiti resembles a rustic style of agricole. In addition rums from cane juice, not necessarilly rhum agricole, are made in Mexico, Japan, Australia and other places.

Le Galion

Le Galion is a molasses-based rum from Martinique, an island better known for its sugarcane juice based Rhum Agricole. It is a terroir-driven single-estate rum produced by the island's last remaining active sugar factory. It is famous for "Grand Arôme" or French Caribbean high-ester (think Jamaican rum), an intensely savory style of rum that delivers massive, pungent flavors usually bottled at a high proof, generally ranging from 50% to 60% plus ABV. It is distilled in traditional column stills. Because it is a highly specialized spirit, it is not easily found on liquor store shelves. It is primarily used as a blending component for other brands such as Denizen Merchant Reserve or bottled in very small batches by independent European bottlers.

Rum J.M

J.M rum is a rhum agricole produced in Macouba, in the northeast of the island, between the Roches and Macouba rivers, at the foot of Mount Pelée. The Fonds Préville distillery, one of the smallest and most traditional on the island, is nestled at the foot of the Bellevue estate where all the sugarcane used as source material is grown. The distillery is located in the middle of the seven hundred forty one acre Fonds-Préville estate, which has been in existence since 1790 when the land was acquired by Antoine Leroux-Préville, who developed it into a major sugar factory named Fonds-Préville. In 1845 Jean-Marie Martin purchased the property, transforming the sugar factory into a distillery and branding his rum with his initials, "J.M". In 1913, industrialist Gustave Crassous de Médeuil purchased both the Fonds-Préville estate and the adjacent Bellevue estate, merging them into a massive nine hundred eighty eight acre property.

Rhum J.M is produced in two traditional copper columns of the Creole type, exclusively from sugarcane grown on the Habitation Bellevue estate located right above the distillery. In 2002 the Fonds Préville distillery and the estate were purchased from the heirs of the Crassous de Médeuil family by the Groupe Bernard Hayot, which had owned Rhum Clément since 1986. In 2016, a second column still added which gave the distillery far greater capacity, that’s when Rhum Clément started sourcing some of its distillate from the distillery and is now sourcing all its distillate from Fonds Préville.

Neisson

Neisson is one of only two remaining family owned distilleries in Martinique, located in Le Carbet. It is a small, artisan rhum agricloe producer using locally grown non-hybrid traditional cane varieties. Its fermentation period is the longest of all the major French island distilleries at seventy two hours before the wash is distilled using a very old and traditional copper Savalle column still. They produce both heavily aged and lighter aging expressions .

The heavily aged rums the produce are: (1) Le Rhun Vieux also known as Le Rhum VIEUX par Neisson is a blend of rums aged three to nine years, released to mark the distillery's 85th anniversary, partly aged in French oak barrels and partly in ex-bourbon American oak. (2) Neisson 15 Year - Batch 3 is a limited edition produced in 2004 and bottled in 2020 after fifteen years of tropical aging in French oak barrels at the distillery with an angel's share of over 90%. (3) Le Rhum XO par Neisson - Batch is an extra old release blend of two barrels from 2005 (70%) and 2007 (30%), aged for eleven and thirteen years respectively at the distillery, this limited edition is more than twice the price of the regular XO release. (4) Neisson 10 year - Velier 70th anniverary, an aged and extremely rare cask strength rhum, released in collaboration with the bottler Velier to commemorate their 70th anniversary.

The lightly aged expressions are: (1) Neisson Élevé Sous Bois,matured for eighteen months in oak casks (2) Le Rhum Agricole Blanc par Neisson - Batch 2, a standard continuous release widely available, produced from local cane and bottled, unaged, bottled at 52.5% (3) Neisson Profil 105 is the first organic rum released by Neisson in 2016 (4) Neisson L'Esprit Rhum Agricole Blanc, released annually in limited quantities, is not aged in oak but is rested for six months in steel tanks before bottling.

Clément

Homère Clément (1852-1923) born four years after the abolition of slavery in La Trinité, Martinique, the son of a tailor and grandson of freed slaves, is credited with pioneering rhum agricole. After studying medicine in France, he returned to Martinique in 1885 to work as a doctor in Le François. In 1887 he became a sugar cane planter when he purchased the forty three hectare Acajou Estate in Le François at auction from the Colonial Land Credit who had acquired it from Françoise Maillet for unpaid debts. He was also a politician who was Le François mayor, general councilor and deputy and served in the French National Assembly as deputy of Martinique from 1902-1906.

Due to an increase in demand for alcohol caused by WWI, in 1917 Clément built a distillery at the Acajou Estate called Habitation Clément on the land of Domaine de l’Acajou, the estate’s former sugar refinery. Upon his death in 1923, his son Charles Clément (-1973), an engineer and businessman, assumed the reigns of the business further developing the distillery with modern production facilities. After producing and marketing their rum under the Acajou brand, in 1944 Charles Clément changed the name of his already well known rum to Clément which soon expanded to international markets and became a major name in rum. By 1946 with more than twelve thousand aging barrels, Rhum Clément became the leading producer of aged rum in Martinique. After the death of Charles in 1973, the brand expansion was carried out by his sons Georges-Louis who ran the distillery in Martinique, and Jean-José who marketed the rums in France and developed export markets from his base in Bordeaux.

In 1986, after three generations in the Clément family, Habitation Clément was going through difficult financial times and was purchased by Bernard Hayot (1934- ). Hayot is a local industrialist and businessman, founder and head of Groupe Bernard Hayot, one of the largest privately owned conglomerates in the French overseas territories, heavily involved in mass retail, automotive dealerships, and rum production. In 1989, although Clément branded rum continued to be aged, blended, and bottled at Habitation Clément, Hayot moved production, including the Creole still, to the Simon Distillery located a short distance away which had been acquired by the Yves Hayot (1927-2017) in 1967 and later organized under the HOLMEX umbrella.

Today, Rhum Clément is a household name in France. Its main expressions are: Clement Rhum Vieux XO, aged rum released every year as part of their Grand Reserve portfolio, Rhum Clément Agricole Blanc, an unaged white rum; Clement V.S.O.P, the brand's flagship aged rum aged for at least four years in virgin limousin barriques and re-charred bourbon casks; Canne Bleue, an aromatic white rum distilled from a single variety of blue sugarcane bottled at 50% ABV; and Créole Shrubb, an orange liqueur made by macerating créole spices and bitter orange peels in a blend of white and aged rums.

Since 2022, Rhum Clément obtains all of its unaged rum from the Fonds Préville distillery, which is also where Rhum J.M is made. The distillery and both brands are owned by Spiribam, which is part of Groupe Bernard Hayot.

Distillerie du Simon SAS

Distillerie du Simon, located in Le François originally functioned as a contract distillery that produced spirits for brands like Rhum Clément and Habitation Saint-Etienne. Known for the historic Habitation du Simon estate, the onetime home of the former governor of Martinique, it is one of Martinique’s most technologically advanced rhum agricole producers. The on-site artisanal distillery produces the A1710 brand, a boutique brand established in 2016 by Yves Assier de Pompignan, known for their innovative, cognac-inspired distillation in a traditional copper still converted into a hybrid column-pot still known as "La Belle Aline" that produces the only pot-still white rum in all of Martinique, marketed in distinct drop-shaped bottles.

Distillerie du Simon SAS operates as a subsidiary of the HOLMEX group, a corporation established in 1994 part of a group of twenty five entities whose global ultimate is located in France. It is located at Habitation Saint-Etienne in Gros-Morne and is managed by José Marie Joseph Michael Hayot, following the passing of Yves Hayot in 2017. It incorporate innovative production tools, inspired by the methods used in cognac production, in order to produce an exceptional rum. Today, Habitation du Simon offers a varied range of rums under the A1710 brand, as well as limited editions.

St James Distillerie

The Saint James Distillery, originally located in St. Pierre but miraculously only parcially destroyed in the 1902 eruption of Mount Pelée, has been producing Rum since 1765. In 1862 Paulin Lambert, a trader from Marseille, purchased “Habitation Trou Vaillant” and registered the Saint James brand. Lambert bottled his rum in a glass bottle with a square base, having in mind that this would reduce breakage and use less space when shipping his product to Europe. In 1973 the Cointreau Co. that in 1990 would become Rémy Cointreau SA, bought Rhums Saint James and set up a new distillery in the middle of sugar cane plantations in the small coastal town of Sainte-Marie on the island’s Atlantic coast. In 2003 2003, Rémy Cointreau SA sold Saint James to the French spirits group La Martiniquaise.

St. James, as is customary in the French Caribbean islands, makes rhum agricole from sugarcane juice and not molasses. The St. James brand is widely regarded as the number one rhum agricole globally and its expressions are highly decorated and well-respected across the spirits industry. It is the biggest distillery in Martinique with a vast line up of organic, flavored infused , aged rums, cask strength and their top of the line Cuvée La Salle XO and VSOP.

Distillerie Trois Rivières

This centuries old Martinican producer shows perfectly how rhum agricole can express a pure sense of terroir. Everything about production there is geared to offer a clear sense of place and the particular conditions across the producer’s three dedicated growing areas. This is particularly apparent in the bright, clean Trois Rivières Cuvee de L'Ocean, which is typically fresh and grassy with hints of sea air and brine that evoke the coastal winds which wash over the cane fields of southern Martinique. It’s an excellent reminder that unaged spirits can absolutely be enjoyed neat from a tasting glass, but also a stunning base for classic cocktails like Daiquiris and Mojitos.

Trois Rivières also offers expressions aged in a combination of American and French oak such as the multi-vintage Triple Millésime. A masterclass in blending, this perfectly balanced cuvée retains the spicy, herbal intensity of fresh cane with added notes of plantain chips, dried mango and sweet anise.