Rhums Agricole

The term 'Rhums Agricole' (literally French for agricultural rum) is used to distinguish rum made from fermented and distilled fresh sugar cane juice from those made from fermented molasses (also known as rhum industriel). Rhums agricole come from the islands of the French West Indies, Martinique, Guadeloupe, Marie Galante and Saint Martin. Rhums agricole can be regarded as 'eaux de vie' of cane sugar.

The exact process by which individual rums are made will depend on the producer, there are many variables from harvesting the cane to bottling and each will lend a specific character to the finished product so the following description is necessarily a generalisation. Sugar cane is harvested in June/July once it is fully ripe, and the juice is rich in natural sugars. The stalks are crushed in mills and the fresh juice is collected in vats where it is fermented with a mixture of wild and/or commercial yeasts until it reaches an alcoholic strength of between 5 and 9% abv, depending on the length of fermentation, this alcoholic liquor is known as vesou in the French West Indies. The vesou is distilled in a single-column still (although some producers use pot stills) and the distillate is collected at around 70% abv; how this clear distillate is now treated determines the style of rum that will be produced. The freshly distilled rum is collected in large stainless-steel vats where it is 'rested' for one to six months to allow the flavours to develop.

If the rum remains in stainless steel tanks after distillation it is destined to become white rum, this is unaged rum as used in many cocktails although it can be enjoyed on its own, otherwise the rum will be transferred into oak barrels, often used bourbon casks, for ageing. The clear white rum will absorb both colour and flavour from the casks, in the same way that whiskey and brandy do, and the longer the ageing period the darker and more flavoursome the rum will become. After a period of three years French West Indies rhums Agricole are permitted to be called rhum vieux. Rum ages much faster than Scotch whiskey or French brandy simply because the average temperature at which the rum is stored is much higher. This also means that evaporation takes place faster and the so-called 'Angel's share' is much larger. Consequently rum producers lose much more product to evaporation each year and prices of aged rums are necessarily higher than might be expected by comparison with other spirits from cooler climates.

Rum can be bottled at various strengths from 40% abv up to full cask strength which will depend on the age of the spirit, the longer it has matured the lower the alcoholic strength. Most rhums agricole are bottled between 40 and 50% abv.