Cape Verde rum, get to the bottom of the bottle

Why does a Cape Verde rum develop this aromatic profile? Let’s go from the bottle to the cane to find out.

In your quest for knowledge, you want to learn more about the rums produced on the Atlantic islands. Your recent stopover in Madeira has only heightened this desire.

With this in mind, you set off down the road to your personal Ali Baba’s cave: your specialist cane brandy cellar.

Busy putting away the morning’s deliveries, he pauses as you enter and listens to you explain what you have in mind.

He says he has exactly what you’re looking for: rums produced in the traditional way on an archipelago off the coast of Senegal. He prefers not to tell you too much, so as to keep it a surprise and not influence you when you discover this beverage.

You cheerfully accept this “challenge” and – after a few tastings of other origins, guided by the master of the house – return home with a new bottle of white rum in your hand.

When you get home, you look at your bottle and see the words “rhum” and “grogue” side by side, as well as its origin: Cape Verde.

You know absolutely nothing about this origin, which makes you even more curious.

You’re also intrigued by the word “grogue“, which evokes a drink in which rum, honey and lemon are added to hot water. The connection seems somewhat remote.

Without further ado, you open the bottle and pour two centilitres into your tasting glass.

The fragrance wafting from the glass is intense and leaves little doubt as to the raw material used: fresh cane juice.

The cane expresses itself unabashedly, full, ripe, herbaceous and organic; it makes you want more. Exotic fruits, heady flowers, spices (including licorice – is that even a spice? You’ve got two hours) and a hint of copper are perceptible, but only present to support the cane.

You’re under the spell of this wild, expressive rum. If it weren’t for the nature of the raw material, you wouldn’t venture to guess the stages of production, even if its very straightforward nature evokes traditional methods.

Your instincts are right: few cane eaux-de-vie are produced more artisanally than grogue.

The cane grows on several of Cape Verde‘s islands. They are grown naturally, with no inputs(fertilizers or pesticides). As in Madeira, whose terrain is also steep, harvesting is done by hand.

The cane is then transported to the trapiche (the name given to the place where production takes place, starting with the press). Once the juice has been extracted (without the addition of water), it is stored in vats so that fermentation can begin.

Once again, nothing is added, not even yeast (and even less acidifying agents). Fermentation takes place in the wild, with ambient yeasts (and bacteria) doing the work of transforming sugar into alcohol and creating aromas.

It will take at least a good week (and often up to two) for the operation to be completed.

Not surprisingly, the next step is just as traditional, and has probably not changed much since the early ^16th century (when the first traces of distillation were found in the archipelago).

No columns here, but small iron stills, heated directly over a flame.

The still is placed in a terracotta cavity on a bed of bagasse (leftover sugarcane once the juice has been extracted), which is used as fuel.

It takes one and a half passes before the distillate is ready. In fact, once the first pass has been completed, the “brouillis” is distilled a second time, not without adding a portion of cane wine (fermented cane juice).

The condensing system is also relatively archaic, consisting of a simple pipe several meters long, embedded in a larger pipe through which cooling water flows.

The result is a pouring rum of around 45%, which is consumed as is in Cape Verde, where most of the production is sold. It’s the archipelago’s national drink.

Although production is regulated, following the implementation of a 2015 law, adulterated grogues can still be found in the region. Fortunately for us, these don’t reach our shores.

On the other hand, in recent years we’ve seen a number of brands arrive on wine shop shelves. Although there are still very few of them, these grogues originating from different trapiches (or even different islands) allow us to imagine the aromatic variety that exists within these ancestral cane brandies.

When you consider that there are several hundred producers on Santo Antão alone, you can’t help but get a taste for cane juice. The island is also renowned for making the best grogue.

LAging toddy remains a very marginal practice, although barrels have been imported for this purpose.

Back in the days of Portuguese colonization, you could find casks of port wine, but now it’s just a few barrels of various types that have been brought to Cape Verde by French producers and distributors.

You may not yet know all there is to know about Cape Verde grogues, but you know enough to understand and appreciate what’s in your glass.

And if you get the chance to taste the punch mel, don’t hesitate! This blend of white grogue and cane sugar syrup (the equivalent of West Indian battery syrup) is a must. You may well have to travel to Cape Verde to discover this drink, but I know there’s no stopping you.

Saint Lucia rum, get to the bottom of the bottle

Why does a rum from Saint Lucia develop this aromatic profile? Let’s go from the bottle to the cane to find out.

For you – and for many others – the Caribbean, in all its diversity, is at the center of the world’s rum production.

Martinique, Barbados, Guadeloupe and Trinidad – these are all origins you’ve already studied, and although you haven’t mastered them, you know the basics of the cane distillates that originate there.

Another island in the region catches your eye, just south of the Isle of Flowers: Saint Lucia.

Wouldn’t this be a good excuse to pay a visit to your wine specialist? You think so (oh surprise!).

The route – which you know by heart – is quickly dispatched and here you are among the shelves covered with bottles of rum. You just love this place!

You don’t beat about the bush: “Dear wine merchant, do you have any rums from Saint Lucia?

To answer this rhetorical question, he guides you to one of the shelves and (in the absence of rum) showers you with words like: unique distillery, variety of stills, English tradition, range of brands, diversity of styles…

As you leave your favorite shop, you almost think that the two bottles in your bundle might not be enough to show you the aromatic range of rums from Saint Lucia.

As soon as you return home, two tasting glasses appear almost miraculously on your table, filled with the contents of your new acquisitions.

One of them is fragrant, just as your wine merchant had explained earlier. You begin your tasting with the other (and temporarily remove the second).

Balanced and quite expressive, it greets you with aromas of dried fruit, spices, tobacco, chocolate and vanilla. The whole is resolutely greedy (and not without a hint of freshness) but seems dry, which is confirmed on the palate. The finish is even slightly drying, and the walnut shows the tip of its kernel.

Relatively complex, it takes you out of your comfort zone without really pushing you. You’ll go so far as to think that there’s more behind this profile than a single, well-executed aging process, while leaning towards molasses as far as the raw material is concerned.

A fine analysis indeed.

The uniqueness of Saint Lucia Distillers (the name given to the island’s only distillery) lies in the variety of styles that can be produced (rather like Guyana).

While molasses (from Panama, Brazil and Mexico, for example, and imported to the island) is used for the most part, the distillery has a few cane fields around their facilities, enabling them to process fresh cane juice. This juice can then be added to certain blends.

Fermentation, which generally lasts a full day and a half, is carried out using different types of yeast (three different strains), depending on the desired result.

What’s more, this transformation of sugars into alcohol (and the creation of aromas) takes place partly in… concrete vats. Where most producers use stainless steel or even wooden vats, this is a “detail” that can have its importance.

Now for the big part: the four distillation units. Their varied natures enable the creation of very different distillates.

Most of the production is handled by a double column. Its role is clearly to produce volume. A bit like Central American rums, the distillate that comes out of it can reach 95% alcohol, which means it won’t have much taste (except for that of ethanol). As you know, this means a lot of wood and barrel aromas during maturation.

Three discontinuous distillation stills make up the rest of the fleet.

A Vendôme (previously owned by Trinidad Distillers Limited) will run a juice with dark accents of licorice, leather, spices, brown sugar and empyreumatic, ashy notes. This is the least productive.

The rest of the trio is made up of two John Dore stills, originally called… John Dore 1 and John Dore 2. The latter has more than ten times the capacity of the former. It is on the latter that the pure juice is distilled.

Both, in different registers, bring a great deal of aromatic intensity, including fruit galore. If blending is to take place, it will be necessary to be sparing in incorporating the distillate from these two, otherwise the other components will be overwhelmed.

There’s still one stage during which the aromatic profile will be influenced: ageing. Here again, Saint Lucia Distillers has plenty to choose from, since the distillery uses five types of cask: ex-bourbon (mostly), ex-porto, ex-red wine, ex-white wine and ex-brandy (wine brandy).

Add to this the fact that their cellars house around 10,000 barrels, and it’s easy to see that SLD has plenty to experiment with and plenty to enjoy.

To sum up: 2 raw materials, 3 yeasts, 4 stills and 5 types of barrel. The possibilities are already impressive, but add the usual choices of fermentation time or ageing duration and the field of possibilities expands even further. And now, think blending!

For it is the know-how and potential of blending that makes Saint Lucia rums so rich. It’s thanks to blending that St. Lucia Distillers has been able to create such diverse brands as Chairman’s Reserve, Admiral Rodney and Santa Lucia 1931.

You now move on to the second rum, which has had time to air out, which is far from calming its intensity.

Exotic fruits, cocoa, a burnt facet, vanilla, a touch of glue and a quarter of green olive form an explosive blend. In the mouth, it reveals its power and concentration, leaving a lasting impression on the palate.

Since you paid close attention when you read the beginning of this article, you’ll understand that this is a rum where the column distillate does not enter the blend. The result is a distinctive spirit that won’t appeal to everyone, but will be snapped up by some connoisseurs.

References such as this will not be found in the classic brand range, but in special editions in partnership with wine merchants, distributors or bottlers.

Now that you know (or almost know) all about rums produced in Saint Lucia, it’s up to you to form your own palate and preferences.

Rum from Mauritius, get to the bottom of the bottle

Why does a rum from Mauritius develop this aromatic profile? Let’s go from the bottle to the cane to find out.

How about a visit to your local wine specialist? No, I know, you don’t need any encouragement to visit him and make new discoveries.

Today, after having tried the rums of Reunion Island, you’d like to learn more about the cane brandies produced on the neighboring island of Mauritius.

You’re far from having a precise idea about these rums (which, as we shall see, is quite normal), so you turn to your purveyor of quality liquids.

It evokes the wide variety of rums produced on this little piece of land lost in the Indian Ocean, and the youthfulness of the industry.

As you can see, you’re going to have to buy (at least) two more bottles to get a clearer picture. You were right, as he steers you towards a bottle of white rum and another of aged rum.

When you ask him if there’s an order to tasting, you’re surprised to hear his reply: “It doesn’t matter”. Well, now you’re well on your way.

Back in your tasting den – and having washed your hands, because it’s important – you grab two special glasses (also known as tulip glasses), into which you pour a few centilitres of each rum.

You decide, almost out of habit, to start this session with white rum, and it’s a slap (or caress) of cane that welcomes you.

Here’s a surprise for you. Without really explaining why, you thought you were dealing with a molasses rum, but here, there’s no room for doubt.

As you dip your nose into it, you find certain aromatic cues that you’ve come across on several occasions in rums made from the fermentation of vesou (the name given to fresh cane juice). Fruits are very present (including a zest of lime), accompanied by more herbaceous touches and a pinch of spice. Above all, however, ripe, fat cane dominates.

This “agricultural” rum, which cannot bear the name, is very much to your taste. It doesn’t seem very different from Guadeloupe or Martinique rums distilled on column after a relatively short fermentation, although it does offer a noticeable intensity.

This very expressive facet, which you may have noticed, comes from the distillation apparatus used here, a pot still. What’s even more noteworthy is the absence of the metallic notes that can sometimes mark this kind of distillate, which is not to your displeasure.

Until 2001, rum producers were legally prohibited from using cane juice as a raw material. What’s more, the “rhum de coulage” (the rum that comes out of the still) had to be higher than 93%.

Suffice it to say that Mauritius is in its infancy when it comes to pure cane juice rums. Some of the island’s distilleries make it their specialty (three of the six in the territory – yes, there are six distilleries on the island).

The second glass is waiting for you and it’s time to devote yourself to it, wondering if you shouldn’t have started with this one. It, too, presents an intense and – logically – very different profile.

Fruits are at the forefront, exotic or yellow-fleshed, juicy and greedy. Then come the spices, very present, including pepper, clove and vanilla.

Unheard of in your nostrils, it appeals to you and you think it’s sugar rum (and therefore made from molasses), but you can’t tell any more than that.
In fact, this is an industrial rum (using the residue of the sugar industry) and this, to your great surprise, is distilled at a high degree, since we’re over 90%, without however reaching the critical 96% threshold, above which the aromas tend to disappear (hello vodka).

The fact that it is so rich is due not only to the work carried out on the yeasts used, but above all to the crucial ageing stage.

It’s in the cellar that the magic happens, thanks to the use of new and ex-cognac French oak barrels.

You may recall that a similar process is used in Réunion’s main distilleries. Similar to Cognac methods, the distillate spends a few months in new barrels, before being transferred to red barrels (already used several times, they bring little tannin and promote oxygenation of the liquid).

The combination of a light (but far from insipid) distillate with a great deal of ageing and blending work enables us to tailor our rums to the desired result.

This clearly makes you want to explore this universe.

In any case, you now understand that whatever your order of tasting, you couldn’t go wrong, as these rums both have sufficiently strong identities.

But that’s not all, as all combinations are possible: white rum from molasses, old rum pure juice (in continuous or discontinuous distillation), the use of various wood essences… and why not spiced or arranged rums?

And therein lies the richness of this origin: a huge variety and rapid expansion of rum production, often overseen by industry experts with a bottle (of rum, of course).

You can see where I’m going with this: it’s going to take time and multiple tastings for you to grasp all that rums from Mauritius have to offer. Fortunately, you’re ready to tackle the task! I salute your self-sacrifice.

Dominican Republic rum, get to the bottom of the bottle

Why does a rum from the Dominican Republic develop this aromatic profile? Let’s go from the bottle to the cane to find out.

Your footsteps lead you by chance (my goodness!) to your favorite stall: your rum cellar. You decide to cross the threshold, it would be too stupid not to take advantage of this stroke of destiny (but of course…).

“Hello, Mr. Cellarman, I just happened to be passing by, so I thought I’d pop in.”

Your wine merchant greets you with a knowing smile, and asks you straight out if you know anything about Dominican Republic rums. Not being the case, you show your curiosity.

He then mentions large production volumes, different raw materials, molasses that is exported (to Barbados, among others) and a special aging method…

Knowing him, you anticipate having to take several bottles home with you, but you’re wrong (yes, it happens a lot, and it’s normal). He points you to a single bottle, explaining that it’s enough to capture the most common profile of Dominican Republic rums.

Once you’re home (again, by chance, of course…), you make yourself comfortable and take out a tulip-shaped glass to pour in two or three centilitres of your new acquisition.

This rum profile is not unfamiliar to you: caramel, vanilla, light oak, a little coconut and some nuts. You associate these aromas with a classic Hispanic-style rum.

Your nose and palate have not deceived you: rums from the Dominican Republic are very similar to Cuban rums, and sometimes even to Central American rums.

The one in your glass is light, but with little – if any – sweetening.

Your wine merchant mentioned rums that can be made from a variety of raw materials; yes, he knows a thing or two. Indeed, while most of the island’s distilleries use only molasses, one of the two largest uses only cane juice. So why didn’t your purveyor of delicious liquids encourage you to buy a bottle of each?

The reason is simple: rums from the Dominican Republic are produced in such a way that the raw material preferred by the distiller cannot be felt in the bottle.

How do you do it, you might ask (and, if we were teasing, we might add “why?”)?

Nothing could be easier (well, you’d need a big factory, anyway). First of all, you need to carry out very short fermentations, during which the aromas have very little time to appear and develop.

Then, in the second stage, distillation on a multi-column system produces a distillate flirting with 96%, approaching aromatic neutrality.

With this rum production process, the choice of raw material is of little importance, since organoleptic characteristics are virtually erased at the column outlet.

The resulting “rum” is a blank page on which the barrel can write whatever it wants – or rather, whatever the cellar master decides.

Ageing is at the heart of the aromatic profile of these rums. As the casks used are traditionally ex-bourbon, the classic aromas of caramel, vanilla and coconut take precedence.

Although the rum you taste appears to be free of added sugar, it’s worth mentioning that, depending on the brand and vintage, sweetening can be significant, until the sweetness is very perceptible on the palate. In fact, it’s not uncommon for the amount of added sugar to be greater on older references – which may seem surprising.

Another practice is adopted by some producers in the Dominican Republic – but also by many Latin rum brands in general. A system of “dynamic aging”, known as the solera method.

This technique has its origins in sherry production in Spain. It allows blending to take place throughout the ageing process.

A solera is made up of several rows of casks stacked one on top of the other. Each row contains eaux-de-vie of the same average age, the youngest at the top, the oldest at the bottom. This last row is called solera, while the others are called criadera.

The bottles are filled with the liquid from the lower barrels (the solera).

The barrels, never completely emptied, are then topped up with the contents of the top row (the oldest criadera). The space thus freed is then filled with juice from the barrels above, and so on. The space occupied by the rum (in this case) contained in the barrels on the highest level is replaced by freshly poured distillate.

It is said – by users of this method – that the older juices “educate” the younger ones, ensuring consistency in the rums produced.

Beware, however, of the practice by some brands of indicating on the bottle the age of the oldest rum in the blend. In Europe, however, this is now forbidden, as it is the age of the youngest component that must be apparent on the label (when an age is indicated, of course).

In order to adapt to more discerning palates, distilleries in the western part of Hispaniola are beginning to raise certain alcohol percentages slightly, and to introduce a few innovations. For the time being, these only concern the ageing stage, with, for example, barrels that are more or less “bousiné”, finishing touches and even roasting of local ingredients in the barrels before the white rum is tapped.

We’ll see what the future holds.

That’s it for this little tour of Dominican soil, at the end of which you’ll have enough information to understand and appreciate the rums that originate there.

You’re welcome.

Reunion Island rum, get to the bottom of the bottle

Why does a rum from Réunion Island develop this aromatic profile? Let’s go from the bottle to the cane to find out.

Photo d’illustration © Anne Gisselbrecht

Weren’t you at your local rum cellar a while ago? Your thirst for knowledge knows no bounds! Anyway, here you are again, in search of cane brandy and knowledge. Fortunately, your official supplier is not short of either.

Having not yet had the opportunity to discover the rums of the Indian Ocean, you mention them to your cellarman, who – in no time at all – starts telling you about Réunion Island and the highly unusual profile of the cane brandies produced there.

You’re a little surprised by his enthusiasm, which doesn’t quite fit in with the image of an island known for its rhums arrangés. Not that you have anything against arranged rums, but that’s not what you’re looking for.

So, once again, you follow the expert advice of your specialist wine merchant and leave with a bottle made in Réunion.

When you get home, close the door, take off your shoes, relieve your bladder and wash your hands (in that order), you take out a tasting glass – you know those ‘tulip’ glasses – which you fill (no, not all the way) with the freshly acquired rum.

You are immediately struck by its highly expressive, even full-bodied nature. The fruit is front and centre, and you’re intrigued by a novel empyreumatic note.

Behind these aromas that literally jump out at you, you detect spicy notes (including a nice vanilla), as well as a hint of roast.

It’s an identity you didn’t know you had, and that excites you (calm down!).

The nose and palate point you in the direction of molasse. And you’re right. Most of the rums produced on Réunion use molasses as a raw material.

However, the island’s three main distilleries (Isautier, Savanna and Rivière du Mât) also produce a small quantity of rhum agricole.

Of course, the roasted and spicy notes come from the ageing process, the key stage in the production of an aged rum, during which exchanges between the juice and the wood take place. These include the aromas from the cask, which gradually colonise the liquid.

On the other hand, the fruity, empyreumatic profile (a superb word that will help you to shine in society), has its origins in the production stages of white rum. It’s the combination of several factors that explains it: the terroir in which the cane grows, the methods used to produce the sugar (and therefore the molasses) and the fermentation.

Reunion’s white rum has a strong character. It exudes fruity and floral aromas, as well as aromas of fermentation, such as olives in brine. It also often expresses that very special characteristic that can make you think of heated rubber. The whole is very expressive and quite unique.

Yes, you’ll have to buy a bottle of white rum to see for yourself!

This strong identity means that it can be aged without the wood totally overpowering the distillate.

It’s worth noting – and this is quite rare in the world of rum – that a large part of the island’s ageing is carried out in French oak barrels (new or that have contained cognac). This is where the spices that characterise Réunion’s aged rums find their roots.

Another important point is that Réunion Island rums have a geographical indication. Similar to that of Guadeloupe, it ensures quality and typicality without being too restrictive.

The first criterion for a rum to bear the label “Rhum de la Réunion” is that it is a traditional rum.

A lot of people make the mistake of calling molasses rums “traditional rums“, even though this term has a legal definition in European law. It describes rums that meet the following four criteria:

• The raw material must originate from the place of production
• The percentage by volume of distillation must be less than 90% vol
• The volatile substances content (or non-alcohol content) must be equal to or greater than 225 grams per hectolitre of pure alcohol (in simple terms, this is a measure of the intensity of the aromas).
• The rum must not be sweetened

In other words, the nature of the raw material is irrelevant. Rum can be both traditional and agricultural.

With that out of the way, let’s move on. Mind you, if I run into you and you make this mistake in my presence, you’re going to hear me!

I must mention a singular product, reminiscent of Jamaican rums: high esters. In fact, one of Réunion’s distilleries produces grand arôme, a rum with very special production methods (especially, but not only, in terms of fermentation).

Extremely aromatic, it will leave no one indifferent and is a rum experience in itself. Here’s another avenue you’ll have to explore – it never ends…

Of course, you weren’t wrong to associate Réunion with rhum arrangé. A true national drink, you’ll find several Réunionese brands (either specialising in arrangés, or a distillery that devotes part of its range to them) selling their typical island creations.

I couldn’t talk about rum and Bourbon Island without mentioning these rum-based spirits (yes, that’s the official name for the category). If you have a sweet tooth and love fruit, you can’t miss them.

You now have a few essential points of reference for understanding and appreciating Réunion’s rums. So, after this molasses rum, why not try a Réunion agricultural rum?