The Best Aged Rhum Agricole

Barbancourt 5 Star spends 8 years in French Limousin oak casks. As with the entire Barbancourt lineup, it's made from sugarcane juice and double distilled. Bottled at 86 proof.

Trois Rivières is a distillery located on the southwestern corner of the island of Martinique. It has an AOC for Rhum Agricole production and as such, of course, means it is distilled from fresh sugarcane juice. The rhum is distilled in a copper column-still and is aged in a combination of French and American oak barrels for at least 8 years.

J.M, named for founder Jean-Marie Martin, is Martinique's smallest distillery. The sugarcane is grown in the volcanic soils of the Mount Pelée foothills above the distillery, pressed within an hour of harvest. Aged for a minimum of 3 years, it spends some time getting acquainted with new oak before finishing in 1st - 4th use ex-bourbon barrels.

The Arcane is an agricole-style rhum that goes about things a little differently. Besides opting for the more recognizable "rum" spelling, the fresh cane juice distillate is first processed close to the source on Mauritius, then brought to Cognac for another go in small alembic stills. This rum is aged a minimum of 12 years in a solera method using French oak.

Domaine de l’Acajou on Martinique was purchased in the late 1880s by Homère Clément, who sought to produce rhum agricole after learning distillation techniques from brandy estates in France. Clément VSOP Rhum Agricole is distilled from fresh sugarcane juice in a single-column copper pot-still. It's aged a minimum of 4 years in a combination of new French Limousin oak and re-charred ex-bourbon casks.

This expression is distilled from fresh sugarcane juice on a Creole copper column still. It's aged a minimum of 4 years — 3 years in a combination of new American oak and re-charred ex-bourbon barrels and at least one year in French oak with varying toast levels. It's bottled without added coloring or sugar at 43% ABV.

This Haitian rhum is produced using fresh sugarcane juice. Originally this was reserved for friends and family, but in the 1960's Barbancourt released this product for sale. Their rhums are aged in French Limousin oak barrels.

Named for founder Jean-Marie Martin, Rhum J.M is Martinique's oldest and smallest distillery, located in the foothills of the active volcano Mount Pelée. It sources its sugarcane from the surrounding Habitation Bellevue, with juice pressed within an hour of harvest. The XO first rests in stainless steel, then spends six years in re-charred bourbon barrels.

Cuvée Homère represents the top marque in Clément's Cellar Master’s Selection Series. While it does not carry an age statement, it is a blend of the Cellar Master's favorite rhums from the previous fifteen years. The blend includes rhums aged in both French Limousin barriques and re-charred Bourbon barrels.

If you see a teardrop bottle of Rhum Clément X.O., buy it without hesitation. This gem from Martinique is no longer being produced, and will soon be replaced with another marque. Why? Because the 1952 vintage that is so key to its flavor profile has finally run out (It also includes rhums from 1970 and 1976). A beautiful example of the French style.