Trois Rivières (Rum)

The Plantation of Trois Rivières is an integral part of the historical heritage of Martinique. In 1660, Nicolas Fouquet, superintendent of King Louis XIV, granted himself 2,000 hectares of plots located in the south of the island. In 1785, Etienne Isaïe Marraud Des Grottes, a wealthy landowner from the north of the island, acquired the land belonging to Trois Rivières and added the manufacture of rum to the existing sugar production. During the 18th and 19th centuries, the plantation specialised in the production of sugar; at the beginning of the 20th century, it began to manufacture agricultural rum which would eventually become its exclusive production from 1940. The Trois Rivières distillery was bought by the company B.B.S. in 1994, already owner of La Mauny rums. Two years later, Trois Rivières obtained the AOC label (protected designation of origin from Martinique). To date, it is the only rum in the world to have a Protected Designation of Origin (AOC). Its emblematic name comes from the three rivers that border the hectares of sugar cane fields: Oman, Bois d'Inde and Saint Pierre.

The manufacturing process begins with the harvested sugarcane in February when the sugar levels are the highest. They are cut and crushed in less than 24 hours then the vesou (cane juice) is transferred to opened fermentation tanks for 24 to 30 hours. With the yeasts, the cane juice is transformed into cane wine; this is then distilled in a Creole column still. Rums age in oak barrels (which never exceed 650 litres) for at least 3 years.