Rhum agricole

Rhum agricole

What it is

Cane juice begins fermenting on its own within hours of pressing, so an agricole distillery runs only during the harvest and stands idle the rest of the year - molasses, by contrast, keeps indefinitely, which is why most of the world's rum is made from it. Martinique's rhum has held an appellation of origin since 1996, the only one of its kind for a rum.

In the kitchen

It is grassy and high-toned, so it goes in at the end: a spoonful into a fruit macerate or a ti-punch, never into a pastry syrup, which is dark rum's job. To flambe bananas, take it at 50 percent or more - the 40 percent bottling will not catch cleanly.

Goes with

Lime Banana Pineapple Mango Coconut Passion fruit Ginger Vanilla

Same species

Cane vinegar Chinese rock sugar Dark rum Demerara sugar Golden syrup Icing sugar

Also used with

Soursop Sucrose ester Vanillon

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