Rhum JM ‘Jardin Macouba’ is a limited edition, unaged agricole rum from Rhum JM. Here there is no doubt that the rum is made on “vesou”; it has all the classic notes of fresh sugarcane juice on the nose. In addition, ‘Jardin Macouba’ is bottled at 53.4% – a delicious strength both for tiki cocktails and ti’punches, or if the rum is to be enjoyed neat.
Color: Clear
Nose: An energetic agricole nose: lychee, wet grass, lime peel and green olives.
Tasting notes: The rum has a nice bite of mint and pepper and lots of fruit in the taste.
Serving suggestions: Drink neat or in cocktails. Rhum JM himself brings the recipe for a cocktail, also called “Macouba”:
6 cl white agricole rum
3 cl Clément Creole Shrub
2 cl fresh lime juice
6 cl guava nectar
Shake and serve over ice.
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!
