Rum Guide to France 2024
June 24, 2024Champagne, Cognac, and grand chateaux – France’s reputation for exquisite wines and spirits is undeniable. This legacy has a long-standing relationship with rum produced in its overseas territories. But there’s a new chapter unfolding. France has a growing scene of rum distilling in the hexagon (nicknamed for its geometric shape).
The story begins in the 1600s when the French West Indies laid the foundations for famous French rum brands today. Pioneering the creole column still on Martinique, adopting French distilling know-how. The colonial era of the French Caribbean prospered on slavery like other European nations. The 1789 French Revolution protests on rising sugar costs had a ripple effect that led to Napoleon prioritise his domestic market and sanctioning sugar beet cultivation in France. In turn, it decimated the Caribbean sugar trade and impacted rum production which would evolve into cane juice rum.
