Rum Journal: Martinique’s Rhum Saint James Hors D’age
Almost any rum lover (or Hemingway enthusiast) will remember.
It’s the rum that Ernest Hemingway drank in A Moveable Feast: Rhum St James.
Papa himself orders the drink to warm up on a cold day in Paris.
It’s something that led this writer to first search out the drink years ago, and just might be the reason many have first encountered a rhum agricole.
For the otherwise initiated, though, Rhum St James represents the pinnacle of Martinique rummaking, home to the wonderful Musee du Rhum in Martinique and producer of world-class spirits to this very day.
Our latest encounter with Hemingway’s favorite agricole was the Hors D’age, a blend of “very old” rums from the French department.
It has a grassy, vegetal aroma with a hint of caramel, and a rich amber colour.
The flavour profile is dominated by sugarcane, dried apricot, caramel, a hint of licorice and the slightest whisper of orange peel.
It’s a superb expression, one that would easily be at home in a great old bar in Paris. Or your bar at home.
— CJ
