Terroir: A Concept Compatible with Rum

Rum raises many questions during our training sessions on spirits, particularly regarding the concept of terroir. The wine culture of producing countries like France has introduced the mention of terroir into the discourse of some distilleries. Is this a commercial and marketing narrative, or is it a genuine differentiation by the product?

The Three Major Categories of Rum

All rums belong to different aromatic families that illustrate a style and sometimes reflect a terroir, as well as a method of production unique to a culture and geographical location.

1/ Rums from Francophone Islands

Francophone islands are known for their agricultural rums, produced exclusively from fresh sugarcane juice. At the end of the harvest, the stalks are crushed in a mill to release their sweet juice. Fermentation can begin immediately. Agricultural rums are known for their pronounced aromas of vegetation, cut herbs, and fruits.

2/ Rums from Spanish-Speaking Countries

They traditionally produce light rums with a unique taste and a smooth texture in the mouth. White rums are referred to as Cuban style and are produced from molasses. This thick, viscous residue is obtained during the sugar refining process. The cane juice is heated, and sugar crystals form. Once these are collected by sugar producers, what remains is molasses, which can vary in quality depending on the stage of the process (molasses obtained at the beginning of the refining process = better quality). The main producers of this Hispanic style are Venezuela, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, Puerto Rico, Colombia, and Guatemala.

3/ Rums from English-Speaking Countries

The British style and its history related to the production of this type of rum could be the subject of an article on its own. Traditional rums have a “dark” appearance with a beautiful roundness in the mouth, offering significant flavors of caramel and spices. This style is primarily found in Barbados, Bermuda, Anguilla, Trinidad and Tobago, British Guiana, and Jamaica.  The latter is well known for its “high-ester” rums, which are very aromatic with fruity flavors.

Focus on Sugarcane

Sugarcane is cultivated everywhere in the world where the climate permits (heat and humidity). Sugarcane plants live for several years, with the cultivation cycle ranging from 4 to over 10 years (before needing to be replanted). Harvesting is done by machine or by hand (in steep regions and/or with cheap labor), and it is collected once a year (twice in certain geographical areas like Hawaii).

Rum and Terroir: A French Perspective

Agricultural rum represents only 3% of the world’s rum production. It is produced solely from sugarcane juice, known as vesou. Sugarcane encompasses several species and hybrids, with more than 4,000 varieties identified, the most well-known being blue, red, golden, and straw canes.

In addition to production methods (fermentation, distillation, aging), the raw material is crucial since it involves working with very fresh cane juice, resulting in a true cane spirit. However, it is established that the variety of cane used matters much less than sunlight, orientation, rainfall, or soil of the parcel on the organoleptic qualities of the fermented juice (vesou). Talking about calcareous or less evolved soil with a sandy-clay texture seems less marketable than discussing red or blue cane, yet it is more quantifiable and directly echoes the agricultural work of the producers.

The cane would merely be the instrument that highlights the terroir, which should be considered in relation to a set of parameters.

Only agricultural rum can claim a terroir, unlike molasses. However, it is essential that the sugarcane comes from clearly identified plantations (soils, exposures, altitude, winds) and that supplies are not mixed upon arrival at the distillery. Initially perceived as merely a marketing discourse from distilleries such as Neisson, Clément, or Longueteau, connoisseurs have validated the influence of terroir on the final product through tasting.

Parcel-based productions have emerged, similar to what can be seen in wine, particularly with the example of the Longueteau distillery, which offers several parcel products. This initiates a critically important task within the estate: valuing the quality of the harvested cane and its terroir through human production. The aim is not just to have aromas but to preserve them during fermentation and then extract them during distillation.

During a Master Class at Whisky Live 2019, François Longueteau (owner) elaborated on the importance of terroir in his production.

“We have four main planting axes on the estate that explain this notion of terroir…namely the maritime axis with iodized influences found within the sugarcane, the humid axis that increases the water content inside the cane and allows for a natural balance during fermentation, the sunlight axis that contributes significant sugar content inside the cane, and finally the last category of parcels near the mountain, protected from the sea wind.

All these categories of terroir bring completely different rum profiles.” During this Master Class, participants were able to compare rums made from red cane located by the sea (Parcel No. 9) with another that grew in a drier location (Parcel No. 1).

Cyrille Lawson, sales director of HSE rums in Martinique, also validates this “terroir” vision on his estate: “The same cane will not produce the same characteristics depending on the soil where it grew, around Mount Pelée with its volcanic soil, on the alluvial lands from central to northern areas, on the clay soil in the south, or the calcareous and dry soil in the extreme south.”

As controlled designations of origin were born in France, the search for the influence of terroir on the final product does not escape rum production in this territory. This vision is little or not present in other production areas around the world.

Discover the different styles of rum during our WSET spirits sessions