It’s the rum capital of the Caribbean — at least if you go by the number of distilleries. The French Caribbean island of Martinique has a whopping 11 distilleries, with even more rum brands, each producing the department’s signature rhum agricole, made out of fresh sugar cane juice, not molasses like its Spanish and English-speaking neighbours in the region. And exploring this route is one of the coolest experiences in the Caribbean. So join us and take a CJ tour of all 11 distilleries on the Route des Rhums.
Habitation Clement
The island’s most famous distillery, Habitation Clement is also home to a museum and an art gallery. It was even the site of a historic meeting between French President Francois Mitterand and US President George HW Bush in 1991.
Rhum St James
It’s home to what must be the only Museum of Rum in the Caribbean, a fascinating collection of old distillery equipment and some seriously old bottles. St James, one of the favorite rums of Ernest Hemingway, has an excellent tasting room/shop and even an onsite restaurant.
Rhum Depaz
It’s the only rhum distillery built on a volcano. Set in the foothills of Mont Pelee outside of the town of St Pierre, Depaz is a serene, historic plantation.
Rhum JM
Set on the other side of Mont Pelee in the area of Macouba, JM is a boutique distillery producing some of the island’s finest rums. Everything here is done the traditional way — they even char their own barrels, something you can watch while you’re there.
Habitation Saint-Etienne
Perhaps the island’s most creative distillery, HSE is located in the lush Gros Morne area of Martinique, with a sleek, modern gift shop.
La Favorite
La Favorite’s distilery is a nod to another time — a raw, frenetic industrial experience where you can get about as close as anywhere to the process of rummaking. (Above: the tasting room)
Rhum Neisson
Set above the beach town of Le Carbet, Neisson is more of a boutique distillery, home to a beautiful sugarcane field and exquisitely-manicured grounds. (Try the white rum — it’s among the most popular on the island).
Hardy
The island’s only beachfront distillery, Hardy is home to a non-operating distillery, though the rum is made from the sugarcane that grows just up the hill. It’s a warm, old-fashioned place to visit in Tartane, one of the island’s funkier enclaves.
La Mauny
The very large La Mauny distillery and sugarcane plantation in Riviere-Pilote is centuries old and is in fact the largest one in Martinique. La Mauny rums are marked by their unique bottle shape.
Trois Rivieres
Another hundreds-of-years-old plantation, Trois Rivieres, located in St Luce in southern Martinique, is notable for its extant sugar mills.
Dillon
This distillery is on the outskirts of Fort de France, and has one of the island’s larger rum distillery gift shops.