The history of rhum in Martinique is a long and storied one. The plantations started as sugar cane producers then dabbled in tobacco, cotton, cocoa and coffee before settling into the production of rhum. Because Martinique soil is volcanic, it is perfect for the growing of sugar cane. Each region of the island boasts their soil and water makes the best rhum. The islands have an annual rhum competition to determine the finest rhum but there is a rhum for every taste and pocketbook. The rhums range from fruity to spicy and costs are between $10.00 a bottle and $800 a bottle! The first stage of rhum making is growing sugar cane. Once the cane reaches maturity, it is harvested. In the old days, it was harvested by slaves but in modern times, large combines chop and strip the cane. The cane is then trucked to the distillery where it is dumped into the cane press. The cane press squeezes all the juice from the cane. That juice is then put into large vats with yeast which starts the fermentation process. You can’t miss the fermentation process in the plant because it smells so bad! It was one time that I actually appreciated wearing my stupid mask! The leftover fibers of the cane become a product called bagasse. The distillers use the bagasse as fuel for the boilers so nothing goes to waste. After fermentation comes distillation. Distillation can take place in a distillation tower or a pot still. Pot stills make single batches but towers tend to run continuously. During the distillation process, the methanol is removed which makes the rhum safe to drink. Methanol is the reason that “homemade” moonshine can be deadly if the moonshiners do not understand the methanol removal process! So, do not buy homemade rhum in the islands! Or in the North Carolina mountains either! Following distillation, the rhum can take two paths. First, is clear rhum or what the islands call white rum. It is used for mixing drinks such as pina coladas and other yummy concoctions! White rum is unaged rum that is bottled within 30 to 90 days of distillation and is stored in large stainless steel vats. The other path is aged rhum. Aged rhum is stored in oak barrels and can be aged from one year to many years. The older the rhum, the higher the price due to the quality of the rhum and the “angel’s share” which is the portion of the rhum that evaporates each year. Once a rhum reaches the desired age, it is bottled and distributed for sale. Then, according to Bill, comes the best and most important part….drinking the rhum!
We have become rhum production experts this week because we visited six distilleries in six days! We figured out that some places were distilleries with rhum tours on the side and some places were rhum tours with distilleries on the side. Each distillery had its’ own marketing plan. Trois Islets had a large windmill that was historically used to turn their machinery. Clement had acres of gardens with modern sculptures. JM Distillery was a no nonsense distillery that allowed you to walk through the buildings to be part of the action. We laughed that OSHA would have had a heart attack because we could have easily pressed any button at any time and we showed great restraint during our ponderings of “I wonder what that button might do?” St. James Distillery had an old sugar cane train that gave tourists rides throughout the day. Depaz had a chateau on the property where the original owners used to live. Our final visit was Neissen and that distillery’s no frills vibe was essentially “come see us if you want but stay out of our way or we’ll squish you.” At St. James, we decided that taking the cane train would be a fun adventure much like taking the train at Disney World or Stone Mountain. Alas, a cane train just goes straight out into the sugar cane field, then backs up to where it started. No Indian attacks or anything! Just acres and acres of sugar cane on a very rough train ride. The narration was in French, of course, and the narrator had to jump off the train periodically to stop traffic with a large flag so the train could cross the street. Bill said he would like to say it was interesting, but it was not. Even if we had spoken French. The Clement gardens offered huge modern art sculptures. Being the modern art aficionados that we are, we would stare aimlessly at the sculpture then name it something that we saw fit. We had the Dr. Seuss tower, Balls in Field, Big Fat Die and our favorite, Drowned Elves. See the pictures below and you’ll see what I mean! Our time in Martinique is drawing to a close and our next destination will be Guadeloupe….another French island so our Google translator app will be on fire once again! I am posting this blog early since we have internet and I have no idea what the future holds in regards to connectivity! Until the next time we have internet, enjoy your spring weather! ****More pics on Pictures tab
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AuthorSally Miller Archives
May 2024
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