Alexandre Gabriel: The tireless mind behind Maison Ferrand and the evolution of modern rum

Alexandre Gabriel is one of the most influential voices in the rum world and the creative force guiding Maison Ferrand since 1989. Under his leadership, this independent, family-owned house – renowned worldwide for its cognac, gin, liqueurs, and the expansive world of Planteray Rum – has solidified a reputation built on craftsmanship, in-depth research, and absolute respect for terroir.

For Gabriel, rum is a lifelong apprenticeship. His vision was shaped in the field, alongside farmers, distillers, coopers and bartenders who understand the spirit from the ground up. He sees rum as a living mosaic of cultures, techniques and heritage — something that can only be truly understood by listening to the people who have carried its knowledge across generations. This constant curiosity has led him to study traditional methods not as relics of the past, but as sources of inspiration: to understand them, reinterpret them, and create new expressions that remain rooted in their origins while speaking to the present.

Maison Ferrand and Planteray Rum reflect this philosophy: they don’t seek to preserve tradition like a museum piece, but rather to keep it moving, allowing it to inspire, evolve, and connect people. In this interview, we explore the perspective of a creative mind who has elevated rum beyond its category, transforming it into a cultural language that unites territories, histories, and communities.

TRL: What was the biggest challenge you faced in launching your rum brand, and how did you overcome it?
Honestly, perception. For a long time, rum was often seen as a simple, casual spirit, something to mix, something festive, but not always given the same level of consideration as Cognac or Whisky. I always felt that was unfair. Rum has extraordinary depth. But you cannot just say that. You have to show it.

That is why Planteray XO became such an important rum for us. It showed, in the glass, what we believed from the beginning: rum can be generous and enjoyable, but also elegant, complex, and full of character.

It also introduced many people to Planteray’s signature: double ageing, a technique rooted in rum’s history. First, the rum ages in the tropics, in ex-bourbon casks, where it gains depth, richness, and intensity. It then travels to France by boat, still in its original casks, undergoing a period of dynamic ageing at sea before being transferred into Ferrand Cognac casks in France. There, it develops texture, roundness, and elegance.

For me, this was a direct answer to the challenge. We were not asking people to take rum seriously because we said so. We were offering them a rum that could make them stop and think, “Wait, rum can be this?”

Perception changes slowly. But it changes when people taste, when they ask questions, when bartenders share their knowledge, when retailers tell the story, when consumers become curious. It is a collective effort. If we keep making honest rum and keep helping people understand what is in their glass, then we are moving in the right direction.


TRL: Can you share a personal experience or moment that significantly influenced your brand’s direction?
Yes. One of the moments that truly changed the direction of the brand did not come from a boardroom. It came from honest conversations with our team in Barbados about our former brand name, Plantation.

When we created the brand in 1999, the name was chosen for its agricultural meaning: the plant, the cane, the land, all essential to rum. That was the intention behind it. But in Barbados, where rum is lived every day and where the history of sugarcane is deeply tied to the history of people, I came to understand that the word carried another weight. That was a turning point. It made me realize that a name cannot only reflect what we intended. It also has to respect what people hear, feel, and understand. Changing from Plantation Rum to Planteray Rum was not easy. The brand was present in 120 markets, and the risk was real. But once we understood that the old name could create distance from the people and cultures we wanted to honor, evolving became necessary. Planteray is a beautiful brand name and one that reflects what we stand for.

TRL: How do you balance tradition with innovation in your approach to rum-making?
I don’t really see tradition and innovation as opposites. In spirits, you cannot innovate seriously if you don’t first understand what came before you, to understand why it existed. Why people distilled this way, why they aged rum in this climate, why use that type of yeast for fermentation, and why a particular style became part of a culture. For me, innovation starts with research, listening, and respect for the people who carry this knowledge.

Planteray Cut & Dry is a good example. It was born in Barbados, at Stade’s West Indies Rum Distillery, and it brings together two Barbadian icons: rum and coconut. Coconut is part of the island’s agricultural life, its landscape, its food, its memory. The idea was to express something deeply Barbadian in a bottle.

It took four years of work and nearly 100 trials to get it right. That is important. Innovation should not be a shortcut. So I was incredibly proud, and also humbled, when Planteray Cut & Dry was named Best New Spirit in the world at the Spirited Awards by the Tales of the Cocktail Foundation last year. It is one of the most respected recognitions in our industry, and for us, it was a wonderful reminder that heritage and innovation can strengthen each other.

Our work on Navy Rum came from the same spirit, but through another path: historical research. Together with spirits historian Matt Pietrek, I spent years studying old records, blending methods, naval traditions, and the role rum played in maritime history. That research led us to co-write The Rum Never Sets, a book dedicated to understanding what Navy Rum truly was. The goal was not to make a romantic version of the past. It was to understand it properly, then ask what a Navy Rum could mean today if it were made with seriousness and respect. That work ultimately inspired us to create Planteray Navy Rum. Tradition gives you the foundation. Curiosity and creativity tell you where to go next.

TRL: How do you educate consumers about your rum, and what’s the most important lesson they should take away?
I don’t think of it as education first. I think of it as opening a door. Rum is not just a liquid. Rum is the reflection of a culture. It carries the terroir, the craftsmanship, the people, and the heritage of a place. When you taste a rum like Planteray XO from Barbados, or a Vintage from Fiji or from Trinidad, you are not tasting the same story. Each origin has its own voice. Our work is to help people hear it. We do this through tastings, masterclasses, conversations, trade shows, books, newsletters and time spent with bartenders, retailers, distributors and rum lovers. The rum community is essential here, because knowledge is passed from person to person. It grows through curiosity, generosity and shared experience.

The most important lesson is simple: rum is not one category with one taste profile. It is one of the richest spirits in the world because it has many places, many techniques, and many cultures. Once people understand that, everything changes.

TRL: What is your long-term vision for your rum brand, and how do you see your role in the evolution of the rum industry?
I want Planteray to help reveal what rum can be. Rum has been underestimated for too long. My hope is that Planteray can help bring its richness to more people, while respecting the communities, origins and traditions that make rum so extraordinary. A rum like Planteray Hogo Monsta, released last year, says a lot about that ambition. It is not about making an extreme rum just for the sake of being extreme. It is about showing that rum has aromatic frontiers still to explore, and that if you understand rum deeply enough, you can push those frontiers with precision.

Esters, hogo, long fermentation, these should not be technical concepts. They are part of the language of rum. I would like more people to learn that language, because it opens a completely different way of understanding the spirit.

Hogo Monsta is not a volume product. It is a creative tool, a conversation starter, a way to show bartenders and rum lovers how far rum can go when you treat it seriously and with imagination. I don’t believe the future of rum will be built by one brand or one person. It will be built by the wider rum community — by all those who share the same curiosity, respect and ambition to take rum further.

My role is to keep learning, to keep asking questions, and to share what we discover. If Planteray can help more people look at rum with fresh eyes and give the category the place it deserves among the great spirits of the world, then we are on the right path.


TRL: What’s one piece of educational advice you would give rum lovers to better understand the spirit?

Do not let the number on the bottle do all the talking. In rum, age can be beautiful, but it can also be misleading if you forget everything else. A rum is not great because it is old. It is great because it has balance, character, and a clear sense of where it comes from.

So taste with questions. Where was it made? How was it distilled? What does this origin usually express? And most importantly, taste with others. Rum is meant to be shared, discussed and discovered together. The more questions you ask, the more rum opens up. And the more it opens up, the more pleasure you will find in it.

TRL: How can people learn more about you? Website? Social media page?

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