Martinique is an island in the Caribbean and belongs to the Lesser Antilles, between the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean 25 km south of Dominica and 37 km north of St. Lucia. Martinique is a fully integrated part of the French state and thus part of the European Union. Rhum agricole is called rum made in the French West Indies. It differs primarily from normal rum by its production from fresh sugar cane juice. Various other manufacturers also use this method, eg. B. Ron Botran or Ron Zacapa from Guatemala. For Rhum from Martinique there is the Décret of November 5, 1996, after a “Rhum Vieux Agricole” can be made with Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée (AOC). The best-known Rhum’s from Martinique are JM, Clément, Trois Rivieres, La Favorit, Mauny etc.

The following quality levels are defined:

– White rum (Rhum Agricole AOC blanc) must be in stainless steel barrels for at least 3 months

be stored to absorb oxygen and to homogenize.

– AOC (rhum paille or rhum ambré) must be stored in oak barrels for at least 1 year.

– At least three years stored rum is called “old rum” (rhum vieux agricole).

There are the following three quality levels:

– VO stored in oak barrels for at least 3 years

– VSOP stored in oak barrels for at least 4 years

– XO stored for at least 6 years in oak barrels.

In addition, there is rum “hors d’age”, which is usually 10 years and longer stored. A bottle of rum from these vintage varieties can easily cost you more than 100 € per bottle