In the former French colony of Martinique, now an overseas department of France, the rum produced is distilled from fresh sugarcane juice, a style called rhum agricole. As opposed to rum produced from molasses, this type of rum has a 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, so with less molasses available to ferment, distillers began distilling the fermented juice from crushed sugarcane, 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 Pelée. 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 coloring 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 necessarily rhum agricole, are made in the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Japan, Australia and other places. In Martinique today there are eleven distilleries in operation, a large number for the small size of the island. Where available, the videos below produced by whisky.com are very good productions regarding each distillery.

Societé Anonyme d’Economie Mixte de Production Sucrière et Rhumière de Martinique

Societé Anonyme d’Economie Mixte de Production Sucrière et Rhumière de Martinique (SAEMPSRM) is the corporate name under which L'usine du Galion sugar factory and Le Galion Rum distillery in La Trinité operate. SAEMPSRM is 57.3% owned by Martinique’s government, 32.6% by the Compagnie Financière Européenne de Prises de Participations (COFEPP) the parent company of La Martiniqaise, 5.6% by Distillerie du Simon, 0.02% by River La Manche and ±4.3% by other minority shareholders. The Societé de production et de Commercialisation des Rhums du Galion (SPCRG), a subsidiary of COFEPP is responsible for the business side and marketing of its rum. COFEPP is a French alcoholic beverages multinational established in 1957, second only to Pernod Ricard in terms of its size. The company's subsidiaries include La Martinquaise, Slaur Sardet and Marie Brizzard Wine & Spirits. Its portfolio of companies owned includes other Martinique rum producers Saint James and Depaz and Réunion Island rum producer Distillerie Rivière du Mât.

Le Galion is the only molasses based rum distilled in Martinique using traditional column stills, its molasses are sourced from Le Galion sugar factory. It is a terroir driven single estate rum produced established in 1863. Terroir driven is a process wherein flavor, aroma, and texture are primarily shaped by the specific environment rather than by heavy processing. Le Galion rum is known for its “grand arôme" or French Caribbean high ester style, an intensely savory style of rum that delivers massive, pungent flavors usually bottled at a high proof generally ranging from 50% to 60% ABV. 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. It is also used in the food industry in the preparation of candied fruits and ice cream. Le Galion grand arôme fermentation lasts a long eight to ten days but different from Jamaican rums, it is distilled in column stills while Jamaica uses pot stills.

Rum J.M

Rhum J.M is produced at the Fonds-Préville distillery, located just south of the town of Macouba in the northern end of the island at the foot of Mount Pelée on the banks of the Roche River. Its distillery is one of the smallest and most traditional on the island, nestled at the foot of the Bellevue estate where all the sugarcane used as source material is grown. The seven hundred forty one acre Fonds-Préville estate 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" notoriously without a period after the second initial. 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 column stills 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 was added that 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

Founded by brothers Jean Hildebert Pamphile “Jean” Neisson ( -1986) and Adrien Neisson ( -1971) in 1931 when they purchased the fifty acre La Thieubert estate. Adrien personally built the initial distillery by hand, while Jean moved to Paris to finish his chemistry studies at the École Supérieure, after which he decided to open an import-export company to sell his rum in France. In 1952 Adrien ordered and a modified traditional copper Savalle distillation column that is still in use today. Upon Adrien’s death, Jean returned to Martinique and focused his efforts on rum production. Following Jean’s death with no heir ready to run the business, his sister Gabrielle managed the business operations while master distiller Emmanuel Frédronic took care of the distillery. Then Jean’s daughter Claudine, a Paris educated medical doctor, left the day hospital she founded in Fort-de-France to devote herself entirely to the distillery. Today Claudine’s son and third generation family member Grégory Vernant, is the distillery’s owner and master distiller,

Neisson, located just south of the town of Le Carbet in the northwest of the island, is one of only two remaining family owned distilleries in Martinique. It is a small, artisan rhum agricole producer, using locally grown non-hybrid traditional cane varieties. Its fermentation period is the longest of all the major French island distilleries from forty plus hours up to five days before the wash is distilled in the same old copper Savalle column still installed in 1952. They produce both light aged white expressions and aged rums in a combination of ex-bourbon casks from Buffalo Trace and both new and aged French Limousine oak barrels.

One of their distinct characteristics is their bottle. In the 1950s Jean Neisson wanted a bottle that would set him apart from everyone else, his sister-in-law had studied Fine Arts in Paris and she designed the bottle named Zépol Karé, Creole for square shoulders.

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 one hundred six acre Domaine de l’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, 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 Domaine de l’Acajou called Habitation Clément on the land of 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, Domaine de l’Acajou/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 the Creole still and production a short distance away to the Distillerie du Simon which had been acquired by his brother Yves Hayot (1927-2017) in 1967.

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, all the unaged rum for the production of Rhum Clement comes from the Fonds Préville distillery, where Rhum J.M is also made. The distillery and both brands are owned by Spiribam, which is part of Groupe Bernard Hayot. The old Clement distillery building has been beautifully restored and turned into an industrial heritage museum.

Distillerie du Simon SAS

Distillerie du Simon located in Le François, is a subsidiary of HOLMEX SAS, a holding company headquartered at Habitation Saint-Etienne in Gros-Morne. It 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 the onetime home of Jean Assier, former governor of Martinique, it is one of Martinique’s most technologically advanced rhum agricole producers.

Habitation Saint-Étienne, or H.S.E., was built to replace La Maugée, an old sugar mill covering around one thousand acres from Gros-Morne to Saint-Joseph. In 1882, Habitation Saint-Étienne was bought by Amédée Aubéry, but towards the end of the 19th century, faced with the sugar crisis, it was converted into a distillery like many sugar plantations at the time. Amédée Aubéry expanded the factory and gave it a remarkable façade with twenty eight arched windows, ensuring optimal ventilation of the building and modernized the entire facility to maximize rum production efficiency. In 1909, the distillery was bought by the Simonnet family who developed the business until its decline in the late 1980s.

In 1994, Yves Hayot, older brother of Bernard Hayot of Rhum Clément, acquired the operation and undertook the restoration and enhancement of the architectural heritage of the property. He used the Habitation Saint-Etienne as the headquarters for HOLMEX SAS, the enterprise under which he managed his diverse portfolio of business interests that included Distillerie du Simon and the Habitation Saint Etienne aging facility. Today, HOLMEX SAS is managed by José Marie Joseph Michael Hayot, following the passing of his father Yves Hayot in 2017. In 1994 Yves Hayot also purchased the Saint-Étienne rum brand from the Dormoy family. He operated Distillerie du Simon as a contract distiller and producer for HOLMEX subsidiary HSE SAS, owner of the Saint-Étienne rum brand, shortened to HSE. The rum is aged at Habitation Saint Etienne and bottled as the Rhum HSE brand. It also until recently, distilled rum for Yves Hayot brother's company, Groupe Bernard Hayot (GBH) and its Clément label.

A1710

A1710 is an artisanal micro-distillery established in 2016 by Yves Assier de Pompignan, a descendant of former governor of Martinique Jean Assier.. It is physically located within the property of the Habitation du Simon estate, but it operates as an entirely separate distillery. They produce the boutique brand A1710 rum from pure sugarcane juice, marketed in distinct drop-shaped bottles. They are known for an innovative, cognac inspired distillation in a traditional copper still converted to a hybrid column-pot still known as "La Belle Aline", that produces the only pot-still white rum in all of Martinique. Since A1710 rum is batch distilled, it cannot use the AOC Martinique designation, notwithstanding, it is within the typical rhum agricole flavor profile.

They began distilling in 2016 selling some of its initial production as unaged rum and aging the rest for future releases. The aged rum they currently sell is acquired from other local distilleries and further aged at their facilities. However, eventually all their aged rum will be distilled by them.

Saint-James Distillerie

Saint-James, was established in the outskirts of Saint-Pierre in 1765 at Habitation Trou Vaillant by its founder Père Edmond Lefébure. Common lore has it that since rum from the colonies could not be imported to France at the time in order to protect the cognac industry, Lefébure named his rum Saint-James, the name of an English admiral who had lived in Saint-Pierre, to facilitate its sale to the colonists of New England. In 1890 Paulin Lambert, a rum trader from Marseille, purchased Habitation Trou Vaillant after registering the Saint-James brand in 1882. 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 1902 Habitation Trou Vaillant was miraculously only partially destroyed in the 1902 eruption of Mount Pelée. After resuming production in 1905 and Paul Lambert’s death that same year, his son Pierre and his nephew Ernest continued to develop the brand, whose sales amounted to two million liters in 1947.

At the end of WWII and after several difficult financial years, the Plantation Saint-James Co. filed for bankruptcy in 1958, only to be reborn as Nouvelle Société Plantations Saint-James. In 1967, the property was acquired by its French importer Picon and the Despointes family, owners of the Sainte-Marie sugar refinery who converted the refinery into a distillery. In 1971, Picon and the Sainte-Marie distilleries were bought by the Cointreau Co. who in 1990 would become Rémy-Cointreau. The land and industrial equipment at Trou Vaillant were sold and in December 1974 a new distillery and aging cellar were inaugurated in the middle of sugar cane plantations in the small coastal town of Sainte-Marie on the island’s Atlantic coast. In 2003, the La Martiniquaise group acquired Saint-James from Rémy-Cointreau.

For over thirty years Saint-James managing director Jean-Claude Benoit has been a leading figure in the world of rhum agricole, he has been instrumental in enabling rhum agricole to obtain a Controlled Designation of Origin Martinique. Saint-James six hundred eighty acres of land allow it to harvest 90% of its sugarcane needs. Its fermentation process that lasts an average thirty six hours takes place in twenty four stainless steel tanks totalling 48,000 liters and distillation occurs in six stainless steel and copper creole columns with copper retrogradation condensers. Saint-James, as is customary in the French Caribbean islands, makes rhum agricole from sugarcane juice and not molasses. The Saint-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.

Rhum Depaz

The 1902 eruption of Mount Pelèe destroyed the Depaz estate and killed all its family members including Pierre François "Raoul" Depaz (1836–1902). Victor Depaz (1886-1960) was the only family survivor as he was in Bordeaux studying at the time. In 1909 Victor returned to Martinique and purchased the twelve hundred eighty seven acre Pecoul estate which had also also been ruined in the Mount Pelèe eruption. He rebuilt its distillery and in 1915 started production of the Depaz brand rum which continues to this day. Rhum Pécoul is no longer produced, while the historic sugar and rum producing estate still physically exists. In 1920 Victor build Cahateau Depaz to resemble the great house of the old destroyed Depaz estate which today is a tourist attraction.

Victor had eleven children, in the 1950s his eldest son Raoul (1913-1998) and his brother André Depaz (1924-1994) took over the reigns of the business. In 1989 the distillery was sold to French liquor distributor Bardinet which in 1993 became part of La Martiniquaise. Today, Dillon rum brand distributed by Bardinet is also produced by Rhum Depaz.

Distillerie La Favorite

Habitation La Favorite, located in Le Lamentin near the center of the island, is one of the two remaining family owned distilleries in Martinique together with Neisson. It was established in 1842 by Charles Henri as a sugar factory. Built in 1842 by Charles Henri, in 1905 it was acquired by Henri Dormoy who built a new manor house nicknamed “The Castle”, installed a steam engine still in operation, modernized its equipment and transformed it into a distillery. In 1938 his son André Dormoy ( -2000) succeeded Henri and upon his death his children Danielle, Jean-Claude, Henri, Catherine, André-Guy, and Paul who is the currently at the helm, took over the management of the business. They made significant investments, expanded and continued the company’s growth.

They control every step of the rum production process, they harvesting the sugarcane they use in around one hundred fifty acres of their own land within the Martnique Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée designated geographical area, distill in a Creole column still and age the rums in ex-bourbon, ex-cognac and ex-armanac oak barrels in their cellars. However during its history, in the past one hundred years or so their rum production has been interrupted several times. In the late 20th Century they made the Saint-Etienne and Courville brands the family then owned until 1994 when the brands were sold to Yves Hayot who the produced them ant his Distillerie du Simon.

The majority of the rum they produce is sold in bulk, however they produce three ranges of rums under the la Favorite brand; Le Grande Classiques, Les Cuvées Spéciales produced in limited editions from specific sugarcane varieties and La Collection, vintages virtually impossible to find today.

Trois Rivières

Trois-Rivières estate was established in 1660 located in the southern part of Martinique. It is named after the three rivers that border it: Oman, Bois d'Inde and Saint Pierre. In 1953 the Marraud des Grottes family owner of the Duquesne distillery acquired Trois-Rivières and built a new distillery. They produced the Duquesne brand rum until 1972 when the Trois-Rivières brand was again produced. In 1976 Italy’s Martini & Rossi bought the Duquesne distillery and owned it until 1993 when it was purchased by Bellonie et Bourdillon Successseurs (BBS). In 2003 BBS closed both the Duquesne and Trois-Rivières distilleries and moved production to La Mauny. Since 2019, the Trois-Rivières brand is produced at the La Mauny distillery and marketed by Gruppo Campari as a result of its acquisition of La Mauny. The Trois-Rivières distillery is no longer in operation and is now a tourist attraction.

La Mauny

The Maison La Mauny is named after Ferdinand Poulain, the then Comte de Mauny who emigrated from France to Martinique in 1749 and married the daughter of a sugar cane plantation owner. Rhum agricole has been produced here since 1820. In 1923 the estate was purchased by Théodore and Georges Bellonie, modernized and expanded production by adding a sugar mill and a distillation column. In 1970 it was acquired by Bellonie et Bourdillon Successseurs (BBS) when the heirs of Théodore and Georges Bellonie partnered with the Bourdillon family traders from Marseilles. BBS operated the La Mauny distillery to the north of Rivière-Pilote and produced the Maison La Mauny, Trois Rivières and Duquesne brands.

In 2003, BBS was acquired by French conglomerate Groupe Quartier Français, a French industrial conglomerate established in 1923 headquartered in Sainte-Suzanne on the island of La Réunion that became Europe's leading producer of cane sugar and expanded into rum, plastics and animal feed across Europe, the Antilles and Tanzania. In 2012, BBS was acquired by the Chevrillon Group, a French family owned private equity and venture capital firm based in Paris. Chevrillon Group managed BBS through a newly established holding company called Rhumantilles SAS with the goal was to transform BBS rum brands into international leaders in the spirits industry.

In July 2019 Campari Group entered into negotiations with Chevrillon to purchase Rhumantilles SAS and finally closed the purchase transaction for €60 million the following September.