Celebrating rhum agricole
By Dana Niland
CJ Contributor
The first-ever Martinique Rhum Festival will take place in New York this week as part of Harlem Week 2015.
The festival on Wednesday, Aug. 12 at 6 PM, will feature 10 celebrated Martinique rhums, all of which carry the Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée (AOC) designation, unique in the world of spirits to the rhums of Martinique.
The festivities, which will be held at Chéri Harlem Restaurant, will also include a raffle with a grand prize of two round-trip tickets to Martinique.
While 97 percent of the world’s rum is now produced using sugar derivatives like molasses, Martinique rhums represent some of the remaining three percent still distilled directly from fresh pressed sugarcane, a process which results in greater depth of flavor and character.
The event is being organized by a partnership of The Martinique Promotion Bureau, the Martinique Regional Council, and the Association of Martinique Rhum Distilleries.
“The bright lights and big stage of New York, and in particular the fabled hotbed of African American artistic excellence that is Harlem, are a perfect match for our legendary rhums,” said Muriel Wiltord, director Americas of the Martinique Promotion Bureau. “We look forward to turning New Yorkers on to our unique rhums, and in the process, further validating Martinique’s status as the rum capital of the world.”
Participating rhum brands in the Martinique Rhum Festival New York include:

Clément
Depaz
Dillon
HSE
Rhum JM
La Favorite
La Mauny
Neisson
Saint James
Trois-Rivières