The Washington Post has called it “the new Scotch.” TIME Magazine dubbed it “the new Cognac.” Whatever you call it, rum is one of the sexiest libations around. This sudden popularity is stimulating a new interest in Martinique, which has long produced some of the world’s best bottlings. The history of this French island is literally soaked in rum; today Martinique proudly claims the distinction of being the world’s only maker of rhum agricole—distilled from cane juice, not molasses—bearing the revered AOC label.
    Few people know the island or its local elixir better than Ed Hamilton, the self-appointed “Minister of Rum.” An avid sailor who spent more than a decade navigating Caribbean waters, Hamilton developed a passion for this spirit, taking his research well beyond the glass. He has gone on to write articles and books about it and now crisscrosses the United States as a representative of Martinique’s rhum agricole. On the following pages, he shares some of his insider’s knowledge of this tropical French island, its stately plantations and its historic distilleries.


THE SPIRIT OF MARTINIQUE
It doesn’t take more than a day or two in the Caribbean to discover that the world of rum extends far beyond Bacardi. Those of us who have had the good fortune of spending years here know just how big and fascinating a world it is: Every island has its own distinctive rums, and there are centuries of history in every bottle.
    It’s always difficult to say just when an interest becomes a passion, but if I had to pinpoint the moment I became serious about the drink in my glass, it would be an April night in 1993. I was anchored off Culebra, preparing my sloop for the annual migration south—a precaution most of us sailors take during hurricane season—when I decided to take a break to attend a full moon party. As I raised my glass of golden rum to the eastern horizon that evening, the brilliance of the orange moon magnified in the bottom of the glass blinded me for a second. I was struck with an idea: Rather than simply sailing south through the island chain, why not visit as many distilleries as possible along the way and learn some of the secrets of rum? At the time, I had no idea that I was about to embark on research that would take on a life of its own, leading me into a new career.
    Armed with a basic understanding of fermentation and distillation (a legacy of my beer-making days in engineering school), I began making the rounds. Noting my interest, distillers soon invited me to taste what they considered to be the best examples of their art. From the beginning, Martinique rums impressed me with their unique aroma and flavor. Hundreds of tastings later, I am still convinced that some of the world’s most outstanding rums hail from Martinique. As F. Paul Pacult, the Robert Parker of spirits journalism, recently noted, “Rhum agricole can be thought of as the single malt of the rum category.”
    By far the best—and most pleasurable—way to become familiar with these spirits is to visit Martinique, where you can see how they are made, meet the people who produce them and taste for yourself the alchemy of golden sugar cane juice distilled into fine rum.
    Moreover, as you make your way from plantation to plantation, you’ll discover much more than rum—you’ll experience a culture and lifestyle like none other in the Caribbean. And most everywhere you go, from rum shops to beaches, les Martiniquais will invite you to share this local spirit, whose history is inextricably woven into that of the island itself.

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