That ranged from Damoiseau’s popular Ti’ Punch party at Les Ilets de la Plage hotel to a “Caribbean Rum Festival” evening that featured Parce Rum, Don Q and Ron Pepon at Le Barthelemy. GBH’s portfolio of spirits includes the Rhum Clément, Rhum JM, Bounty, Chairman’s Reserve and Admiral Rodney rum brands. The brands are produced by Saint Lucia Distillers, which GBH acquired in March 2016. Each barrel is carefully selected to bring specific characters to our aged rum. Before being used, our barrels are first charred by igniting high-proof rum inside the barrel. After the char has been scraped, new oak tannins are exposed, which deliver the barrel’s character and the rich color we want in our aged rums.

At its price point it is certainly good value and makes for a nice introduction to white agricole. Even at 50% once mixed it seems more easy going and is surprisingly easy to drink. Making it a little dangerous! To make the right choice among the extensive selection of JM rums, several criteria should be considered: Price estimate statistics ---- J.M 2005 Of. Calvados Cask n°0410147 - One of 570 - bottled 2015 ---- Your Personal Taste: depending on whether you prefer the fresh and herbal flavors of white rums, the indulgent aromas of amber rums, or the intensity of aged rums, explore the range that best suits your preferences. Rhum J.M along with Rhum Clement and the recently acquired St Lucia Distillers are part of the GBH (Groupe Bernard Hayot) Spirit Division.

There’s a rich and heavy fruit aroma coming off the glass here, almost like a very sweet fruitcake — I’m getting some raisins, apricots, deep brown sugar, plums, figs, and a touch of vanilla for good measure. As the liquid settles, there’s a bit of the herbaceous raw sugar cane that peeks through, but it is significantly buried under everything else. It’s less of a tropical assortment than we saw in the VSOP and more of the traditional rancio profile. Rum J.M has the exclusive benefit to use pure volcanic spring water rich in minerals sourced from the bowels of Mount Pelée. We feel this is worth mentioning as the purity of the water is a key contributor to the quality of Rum J.M. This is the best field of rums we’ve had yet in competition in St Barth, part of a truly spectacular week of rum events in the Caribbean’s most glamorous island,” said Alexander Britell, editor and publisher of Caribbean Journal and co-founder of the Caribbean Rum Awards St Barth. “The Caribbean Rum Awards St Barth has truly become the region’s premier rum festival.” The Rhum Room, St Barth’s legendary rum bar.

This new(ish) brand from Grenada focuses on single origin and terroir in the rum category. This particular expression is made from a sugar cane variety called Lacalome Red. Made as the name suggests on column still, this rum has that lovely sugarcane sweetness with bright tropical notes that move into a mix of orange and vanilla. Alc 50% Créoles: an amber rum rich in spices and warm notes, offering an exotic and spicy touch to your drinks. The Bellevue distillery (also incorrectly noted as Belvedere on some Indie bottlings) is located on the flanks of Mount Pelee. The producers claim the rich volcanic soil give the rhum its unique flavour profile. They are very keen on using terroir (the land on which the sugar cane grows) to identify and highlight the uniqueness of their agricole rhum. But the week was far more than just a competition, with nearly two dozen events across five days, from master classes with distillers and blenders to rum-pairing dinners to VIP cigar-and-rum pairings. Rhum HSE’s Samuel Laborieux gives a master class. The bottle itself looks like a traditional, antique spirits bottle — specifically, something you’d expect from a Scottish distillery. And I’m totally here for it. Most rum on the market these days is intended to be fun and quirky, but this ancient and storied expression of a very specific kind of rum has earned the right to be a little more stoic.

HOW to find

The label is large… and normally I’d complain about that. Really, the only thing on the label is an illustrated image of the distillery and the Rhum JM trademark in big red letters, the rest of the legally required details printed on a smaller label below the first. And normally I’d be annoyed that such a huge label would prevent you from seeing the spirit inside the bottle, but the dark green glass used here already means there really isn’t much to see. Located in northern Martinique at the foot of Mount Pelée, Habitation Bellevue benefits from a tropical climate and particularly rich and fertile volcanic soil excellent for the cultivation of exceptional sugarcane. Our sugarcane grow up the face of the volcano on the exposed to the tropical sea breezes, which are important to ventilate the sugarcane. Now off my art critic soapbox. Let's look at the rum itself. It is a deep amber color with a hint of bronze. It has nice legs and beads of the rum cling to the sides after settling from a swirl in my snifter. It has a recognizable agricole aroma but nothing harsh.

Sous Bois (Raised in Wood): Aged for a minimum of 12 months in wooden vats or barrels, offering a bridge between the vivacity of blanc and the complexity of aged rums.Rhum JM must surely have the rare distinction of being the only distillery located in the shadow of an active volcano, Mount Pelee. Rhum JM oldest distillery still producing on Martinique, and an iconic brand of the Rhum Agricole style. Drinkers should expect rich nutty notes of butter and toffee, with a slight citrus aroma and a chewy mouthfeel. In 1914, Gustave Crassous de Médeuil bought the J.M Distillery from the family of Jean-Marie MARTIN. The Crassous de Médeuil heirs have carried on the time-honored passion and tradition of making rum J.M

Blanc (White): Fresh, unaged, or briefly aged for up to three months, it is vibrant and intensely flavourful. Aged Rum: aged for at least 3 years, JM aged rums stand out with even more intense woody, spicy, and fruity notes. Depending on their vintage and aging duration, they offer an extraordinary flavor profile that delights connoisseurs of high-end rum and other spirits. Rhum agricole primarily differs from the majority of rum in the American marketplace by being distilled from a slightly different product. Whereas the vast majority of rum produced throughout the Caribbean and Central America, in countries such as Barbados, Panama, Nicaragua or Cuba is fermented and distilled from molasses—the by-product of sugar production—rhum agricole is instead produced with pure sugar cane juice, the base product that eventually becomes BOTH sugar and molasses. In other words, it’s basically rum that results from an earlier state of sugar cane production, and this impacts the eventual flavor of rhum agricole. Compared with rums made from molasses, typical agricole offerings retain more of the terroir of where they come from and the plant-like flavors of the sugar cane itself—they are grassier, more herbaceous, and are often described as significantly more “funky,” with notes that remind one of the land from which they are derived. Made at the highly revered Foursquare Rum Distillery in Barbados, Doorly’s XO is a blend of column and pot still rums, aged for a minimum of six years and finished in oloroso Sherry casks. This rum is bursting with notes of toffee, tarte tatin and vanilla, with a warming, dark sugar note that makes it not too sweet but deliciously moreish. Great as a sipping rum. Alc 40% On the nose, the V.O is again earthy, with that same pineapple note that I also got in the Blanc, but the stand-out note for me is a savory, earthy thing that is quite reminiscent of tobacco leaves. On the palate this segues into more of a toffee/caramel candy richness, with more tobacco, and a lingering earthiness. Mildly sweet, it doesn’t necessarily feel like maturation has been rushed, but it’s certainly not the most complex of the Rhum J.M aged offerings. It will, however, stand in absolutely fine in just about any mixing application where you might want to introduce a little agricole flavor.While the plantation remains owned by the family of Crassous de Médeuil, the trademark for Rhum J.M. was sold in 2002 to Group Bernard Hayot, a Martinique-based trade group who markets and sells the brand of rum worldwide. Product After 2 years of various Covid travel interruptions ourfestival has taken a triumphant step forward,” said Davis, global rum expert and co-founder of the event. Rhum JM was born in a very particular environment: thanks to the trade winds, abundant rainfall, and extremely rich volcanic soil, sugar cane grows under ideal conditions to give rise to exceptional rums. Founded in the 19th century, the distillery initially focused on sugar production before being taken over by Jean-Marie Martin, its creator, whose initials give the brand its name. Today, JM's reputation is such that these two letters make the hearts of rum enthusiasts from around the world beat faster. White, Amber, and Aged Rum: a Diverse Range for All Tastes