Translated by Bethszabee Garner

A blue-green sea, tropical beaches, lush green cane fields, a warm and humid climate... You'd think you were in the Caribbean. And yet we are in Thailand, in Chalong Bay, Phuket. It was here that in 2012, after completing their studies, Marine Lucchini and Thibault Spithakis founded the Chalong Bay rum distillery. Everything is done by hand, from the cane to the bottle, by a team that has been there since the beginning. And everything is 100% natural, a rare approach in the world of rum and spirits in general.

“We only work with partner farmers who grow their sugar cane without pesticides, fertilizers, or slash-and-burn techniques to maintain their plots in a sustainable manner,” emphasizes the co-founder from this remote corner of the world. Starting from scratch, Chalong Bay has developed its own recipes and identity, drawing inspiration from the standards of Caribbean agricultural rum: a fresh juice with explosive aromas of tropical fruits and plants. This adventure, which has been rewarded with the Agricultural Merit Medal, is a good illustration of the new history of rum that has been written over the last twenty years.

Contrary to what one might think, it makes perfect sense to produce rum here; Thailand is the world's fourth largest producer of sugar cane, a plant that originated in Papua New Guinea before migrating to Southeast Asia, southern China, and the Indus Valley in India, where it is believed that Indians began making alcoholic liquors from cane juice more than 5,000 years ago. The Persians, followed by the Arabs, then imported it to Mesopotamia and around the Mediterranean.

In 1493, during his second voyage across the Atlantic Ocean, Christopher Columbus brought sugarcane from the island of Madeira to Hispaniola, now divided into two parts, the western part, Haiti, and the eastern part, the Dominican Republic. Sugarcane spread throughout the Caribbean, particularly to Barbados and Brazil.

“The first written reference to the word rum dates back to 1650 in an inventory of a small sugar factory on a plantation called Tree Houses Plantation in Barbados,” says Alexandre Gabriel, passionate founder of the Planteray brand, who continues to document the history of rum. By 1655, British sailors were drinking it on their ships. They wasted no time! In the 18th century, it even became a daily ration, the “daily tot,” in the Royal Navy. Until July 31, 1970, when the English lords decided that this was no longer reasonable. That fateful day has a name: Black Tot Day. "

On the French side, Father Jean-Baptiste Labat, a slave-owning missionary sent to Martinique in 1684, mentions it in his writings after discovering, as a cure for Maltese fever, guildive, or tafia, the archaic, unrefined ancestor of rum. He then imported a cognac still and produced a distillate considered to be the first French “rum.” The Père Labat brand, created in his honor, is now one of the last distilleries in Marie-Galante.

Molasses or pure juice rum

Although rum has never had any borders—it can be found in Latin America, South Africa, and the Seychelles—today it bears no resemblance to the rotgut drunk by sailors. It is even the French people's favorite spirit after whiskey, because it offers them a taste journey to the crossroads of multiple cultures. Rum is mainly produced worldwide from the fermentation of molasses, the syrupy residue obtained after the extraction of sugar crystals during the manufacture and refining of sugar in refineries.

“France produces molasses rums, but it has a strong heritage of pure cane juice, which is found in particular in the so-called agricultural rums of the French West Indies,” observes Adrien Gasteclou, an expert at La Maison du Whisky. The cane fields are used solely for making rum. After cutting the cane, it is crushed, pressed, and its juice, known as vesou, is extracted and immediately sent for fermentation and then distillation. In a way, it is the soul of the cane that we seek to extract, without transforming it, whereas molasses undergoes several heating processes that give rise to sweeter, slightly pastry-like, licorice-like aromas. Pure juice rum retains the vegetal, fresh, herbaceous character of the raw material."

Fermentation is important because the yeasts generate esters that are responsible for the rum's fruitiness: classic fruit aromas, slightly citrusy, with notes of mango, banana, or passion fruit during longer fermentations. Unlike whiskey, rum can be bottled without being aged in barrels: these white rums can be aromatic and complex when tasted neat, particularly agricultural rums.

A “wine-making” approach

Since 1996, these rums have been distinguished by a controlled designation of origin, limited to five territories (Guadeloupe, Martinique, French Guiana, Réunion, and Madeira), with strict specifications to be met: low yields, minimal sugar content, no added syrup, etc. The approach, driven by the younger generations, is sometimes similar to that of the wine world, with certain plots or varieties of cane being promoted; there are more than 4,000 of them!

“There is a lot of research and hybridization going on today to develop cane varieties with the best yields and interesting aromatics, even if we can't say exactly what impact this will have on the taste, unlike grape varieties in the world of wine,” observes Adrien Gasteclou.

Let the adventure begin!

From left to right:

Neisson organic rum (Martinique) – €62

Chalong Bay High proof (Thailand) – €62

Clarin 2022 Vaval (Haiti) – €51

Planteray rum 23 years old (Jamaica) – €229

Karukera vintage (Guadeloupe) – €220

Eminente 7 years old Reserva – €55.90

The Neisson brand, based in Carbet, Martinique, is a testament to this rise in range, to which the charismatic Claudine Vernant-Neisson and her son Grégory have contributed greatly. In 1997, their 55% white rum was the first to receive a gold medal at the Concours Général Agricole in the AOC Martinique category. This family-owned distillery, one of the last on the island, has also been producing the first organic white rum since 2016. Four years later, it represented Martinique at the “Made in France” exhibition at the Élysée Palace.

“The sugar cane we grow benefits from a unique terroir: sandy-clay volcanic soils from Mount Pelée, strong sunshine, low rainfall, and a wide temperature range during Lent, the harvest period,” explains Manon Petetin, brand ambassador. At Neisson, fermentation is carried out using yeast indigenous to the sugar cane, specific to the estate. This unique feature gives the rums a particularly expressive aromatic identity.

Even more authentic is Clairin from Haiti, one of the poorest islands in the world, but home to 532 distilleries! Most rums are produced for local consumption and sold by the roadside in old recycled water bottles. Due to a lack of resources, they are sometimes distilled in old gas cylinders, with taps serving as the swan neck of the still! Harvesting is still done manually and the cane is transported to the distillery by donkeys or ox carts.

Some high-quality artisanal brands, produced using natural methods, are available to us, such as the surprising Clairin Vaval, a true olfactory journey with its truffle nose, great freshness, and lingering finish. With rum, adventure is never far away.

Article written by Romain Rosso, featured in issue 12 of OniriQ magazine.