Le rhum

If there were a national beverage of Martinique, it would be rum.

The popularity of rum certainly isn't unique to Martinique -- most of the other islands are quite prolific as well, simply due to the ideal growing conditions and subsequent ubiquity of sugarcane in the Caribbean. But in any case, people take their rum very, very seriously here. Nearly every commune in Martinique has its own marque, its own rum-producing distillery. You can get bottles of high-quality rum in all the supermarkets for just a couple of euros.

By far the most popular drink in Martinique is the ti-punch ("ti" is Creole for petit, or small), which is rum, cane sugar, and a lime, usually squeezed and then dropped into the glass. No two ti-punches are ever the same; everyone has their own way of making them, their own opinions about the proper ratios of sugar to rum, rum to lime, and whether to add ice or not.

Here's a picture I stole from Google, since I haven't had occasion to take one myself. You're supposed sip it like a drink, even though it's essentially a cup of hard alcohol.



Over the weekend I visited a distillery, Depaz, next to Saint-Pierre. It was interesting to learn about all the different steps that go into making rum. I think it's just as much of an art as winemaking, en fait.

The grounds were absolutely beautiful. Because this time of year (between February and May) is la récolte, the harvesting of sugar cane, the fields were all empty.



The water used to make this particular marque of rum flows from Montagne Pelée, and so is apparently quite pure.



The usine, or factory, is where all the action happens. You can see the fermentation containers here, where they somehow ferment sugarcane juice and molasses to make (apparently) a kind of winelike substance.



This is the machinery they use to crush the sugarcane.



Distillation tanks, meant to extract the portion of the liquid containing the alcohol and flavor.



Vats for aging white (light-colored) rum.



Barrels for aging dark (golden-colored) rum -- usually 1 to 3 years!



There was a free dégustation inside the gift shop. Just for everyone's enjoyment, here's the English translation of the explanation of the bois lélé, the stick you're supposed to use to stir your rum.