DIAMOND in the rough
How one entrepreneurial distiller rescued a Martinique sugar plantation and laid the foundations for a new spirit style
When Homère Clément purchased the Domaine de l’Acajou plantation in Martinique in 1887, it was not an opportune time to be investing in sugar. The introduction of sugar beet and the increasing availability of cheap South American products meant the sugar trade on the island, long renowned as having optimal terroir for sugarcane cultivation, was in turmoil.
Not long after the purchase, Domaine de l’Acajou – close to the town of Le Francois, of which Clément was mayor – went the way of many other plantations in Martinique and was declared bankrupt. However, its new owner invested heavily in the 43-acre estate and brought it back to prominence – not for its sugar, but world-class rum. Clément tasked the estate planters to harvest the sugarcane and press it to extract juice which he could distil, mimicking the Armagnac producers of his native France to create what is today termed rhum agricole.
The first Rhum Clément-branded spirits were bottled by Homère Clément’s son, Charles, a student of distillation at the Louis Pasteur School in France who took over the plantation and distillery in 1923 following his father’s death. Charles was the first to export rhum agricole out of Martinique and established France as the first major market for it outside the Caribbean.
Today, Rhum Clément is the one of the world’s foremost rhum agricole brands. Its 100-strong portfolio of products – including white, amber and aged rums, punches and liqueurs – is distributed to more than 80 countries from the US and UK to Australia, Japan and Israel.
Production moved from the old distillery at Domaine de l’Acajou to the nearby Simon Distillery in 1988 (although the Habitation Clément is still listed as Martinique’s top tourist attraction). Sugarcane harvested on the estate is crushed to obtain cane juice (‘vésou’), which is fermented for 24 to 36 hours and supplemented with yeasts to create a wash of
around 5% ABV. Distillation happens in a traditional creole column still, powered with leftover ‘bagasse’ from the crushing process. The distillate captured from the stills is at 71% ABV.
Ageing is where Rhum Clément says its true expertise lies. Its distillery has six cellars capable of housing a total of 11,500 barrels. All its rums are first aged in French oak barrels for a year before being transferred to ex-Bourbon barrels; the distillery team says Martinique’s warm, humid conditions can age a spirit more than 2.5 times faster than it would age in France or Kentucky. Clément’s aged rums start at three years old – the minimum ageing period for a ‘rhum vieux’, according to Martinique regulations – to much older vintages.
Homère Clément took a significant gamble when he stepped in to buy Domaine de l’Acajou, at a time when plantation owners were fighting off rioting planters at the gates of their foundering estates. The team at Rhum Clément today is mindful of this legacy, and the brand’s position as a leader in the rhum agricole market. They adhere to strict quality assurance processes to ensure its rums live up to expectations, from the harvesting of its sugarcane (which is pressed within hours of coming out of the fields) to the careful monitoring of its ageing stock.
They are operating in a world that is waking up to the wealth of great rum available, not just rhum agricoles from the French Caribbean but regional variations from around the globe. Pierrick Barancourt of Spiribam, which markets Rhum Clément, said, “Rum consumption is booming and we are thrilled to see a premiumisation trend, with consumers looking for traceability and quality. Both notions of terroir and know-how are central in our consumer’s approach.
“Rum offers limitless possibilities for cocktail consumption – indeed, rum cocktails are often best sellers in mixology-driven bars. Moreover, the community of rum aficionados is rapidly growing with more people enjoying sipping the exquisite aged rums available.”