Spirit of experimentation

Bringing the Caribbean to Cognac

Often the best experiences are those when you don’t end up where you expected. When Alexandre Gabriel reflects on being the figurehead of Plantation, one of the most recognisable rums on the market, he presumably has a similar feeling, considering that it all started with him discovering a historic spirit brand in the heart of Cognac.

Gabriel says, “I originally trained as a master blender in Cognac and have been at it for 30 years now. When visiting distiller friends in the Caribbean, I fell in love with rum.”

Throwing himself into the world of Cognac, Alexandre looked at selling some of his casks to other spirits producers. Rum producers in particular took interest, but it also served to open up the Caribbean and Latin America to Alexandre, whose passion for travel found it irresistible. As he travelled the Caribbean, Alexandre discovered great rums – each a distinctive product of the specific island. From there, Plantation was born.

The concept of terroir is well known across many drinks these days, however each island of the Caribbean expresses its personality in the flavour of its rums.

Gabriel says, “What I find most fascinating about this delicious elixir is that it is so rich and diverse depending on which country it is produced.

“I think that after the great recession of the 20th century, we have unfortunately seen simplification and industrialisation of the production of many spirits. Our mission with Plantation is to dig back into history to research ancient techniques and methods in order to create delicious rums.”

Plantation blends rums from across the Caribbean islands, including from Jamaica and Barbados, with the brand owning the West Indies Rum Distillery and acting as a shareholder of National Rum of Jamaica, the owner of Clarendon Distillery and Long Pond Distillery.

With a hand on the pulse of Caribbean rum, there’s still space in the Plantation process for a little French-influence. Every Plantation rum undergoes a double-ageing process, whereby they age in Bourbon casks in the tropics before they are then transferred to Maison Ferrand’s Château de Bonbonnet in France to mature in Ferrand’s Cognac barrels.

Gabriel explains the process, “The rum is first fermented and distilled and then aged in the tropical climate of their country of origin in ex-Bourbon casks. We ship them back to France in their barrels, as it was done by the old producers, but also by our friends in Scandinavian countries that still age their aquavits at sea. Once in France, they undergo a second ageing in our Ferrand Cognac casks. An interesting effect takes place during the voyage on the sea between the rum’s country of origin and France – dynamic ageing creates esterification. This results in a wonderful richness of flavour and fruity notes or esters.”

It is thought that the first records of rum distillation date back to the 1600s in Barbados and through Plantation, Alexandre seeks to honour that heritage, while also respecting the individual processes and methods found on each island. The Plantation vintage range is a testament to that, with expressions including; Trinidad 2005, which was distilled in a four column still at Trinidad Distillers, aged for 11 years on the island and then matured in Ferrand casks for two-three years. Others in the range come from Panama, Barbados, Jamaica and intriguingly, Peru and Fiji.

Heritage, however, doesn’t mean sign that Plantation is afraid to innovate and experiment. Another range is the Bar Classics, a range of four rums conceived with the help of bartenders from across the world. Among the series is the O.F.T.D. Overproof (or,

Old Fashioned Traditional Dark) at 69%

ABV, and the Stiggins’ Fancy Pineapple, so named after the Dickens character Reverend Stiggins from the Pickwick Papers. The rinds of Victoria pineapples are infused in Plantation’s 3 Stars rum and then further distilled, while simultaneously the fruit of the pineapples are infused in Plantation Original Dark rum. The infusion and distillate are then finally blended together for a 40% ABV rum that delivers tropical fruits surrounded in smoke.

“What I find most fascinating about this delicious

elixir is that it is so rich and diverse”