Located at the foot of Mount Pelée, Martinique’s famous volcano, the Fonds-Préville distillery, which has produced J.M. Rome since 1845, is unique in its geographical location. This unique terroir offers abundant and rich sugar cane as well as spring water filtered in the depths of the volcano. Terroir Volcanique, born from the perfect symbiosis between this unique terroir and the distillery’s renowned know-how, combines power and delicacy to offer a unique taste experience that reflects Martinique’s many resources.
A DOUBLE TOAST FOR MORE CHARACTERS
This Rhum Agricole has been aged for a minimum of 3 years in new American oak casks, which have undergone two different roastings of the wood. One of the casks was heavily roasted to extract notes of vanilla, honey, woody and empyrumatic sweetness, while the other was heated in an extreme way to bring volume and roundness to the palate with flavors of flambéed exotic fruits and a hint of nutmeg.
«At Rhum J.M. we like to play with roasting the casks, which allows us to develop specific aromas. We are lucky enough to have our own cooperage in the distillery, which gives us the opportunity to experiment on a daily basis,’ explains Karine Lassalle, cellar master at the Fonds Préville distillery.
FONDS-PREVILLE DISTILLERI, A RED cl.IMATE IN A GREEN SHELL.
In Macouba, on this rich land swept by trade winds and tropical rains, we grow probably the best sugar cane in the world by promoting soil health through crop rotation and fallow.
In addition, for several years now we have run our distillery in a circular economy, so the sugar cane waste feeds our boiler and produces electricity for the island.
This preservation of our paradisiacal environment, of our terroir, allows the men and women of the J.M. team to offer amateurs and connoisseurs unique rums. Unique because they are responsible.
Through Terroir Volcanique, the J.M. distillery, true to its reputation, offers you the very best.
The plantation where Rhum JM is produced today was originally just a sugar refinery, but when Jean-Marie Martin bought the property in 1845, he switched his focus from sugar to rum. Jean-Marie had quickly spotted that the unique conditions of the fields at the foot of Mont Pelée created sugarcane of an unrivaled quality that would make an excellent rhum agricole. And to this day, 100% of the distillery’s sugar cane is still grown on the steep slopes of the mighty volcano. JM highlights 4 things that are crucial to the terroir: the lush, volcanic soil, the tropical humidity from the low cloud cover, the ventilation from the sea breeze that blows into the volcano and cools the fields, and the good drainage in the steep hillside fields. To preserve all the aromas of the sugarcane, they are pressed within 1 hour of harvesting!
Next to the distillery and the fields are the cellars, where part of the rum is stored for longer periods. At JM, bourbon casks made of American oak are mainly used, but now and then new, unused casks, armagnac casks, cognac casks and calvados casks are also seen. When the casks are burned at JM, it is done by igniting high-strength rum in the cask – an impressive sight!
