know-how
Controlled Designation of Origin (AOC)
Signature of Rhums Clément
Martinique’s rhum agricole is distilled from pure sugarcane juice and crafted in accordance with the strict standards of the AOC (Controlled Designation of Origin). This demanding process preserves its natural flavours and ensures the highest quality, and marks the authenticity of our products.
TASTING COMMITTEE
A group of experts
The Tasting Committee is an in-house panel of specialists responsible for regularly assessing and sampling rums throughout the various stages of production. In collaboration with the cellar master, its role is essential in maintaining the sensory consistency of the rum — testing aromas, texture, and flavours. Constantly striving for excellence, the members of the Tasting Committee are also involved in blending decisions and the validation of new products.
CELLAR MASTER
Heritage and modernity
Since 2021, Julien Thimon embodies the new face of Rhums Clément. After accompanying Robert Peronet in ageing and blending at the Habitation Clément for eighteen years, he then became cellar master. In this capacity, he oversees all stages of the production process, from the selection of sugarcane varieties to the bottling of the rum. While preserving its age-old quality, he innovates, renews, and perfects Clément rums with bold new blends.
A NEW PRODUCTION UNIT
A modern plant
With a floor area of 3,500 m², the new ultra-modern production building enables Rhums Clément to be bottled on site. Two bottling lines, a storage area, and a shipping area ensure quality and traceability at every stage. This is also where the Clément tasting panel and experts bring out the full intensity of the flavours of current and future Clément rums.
Harvest
A sugar season
There are 4,000 varieties of sugarcane, of which only 29 are approved by the AOC (since 2020). When fully mature, the sugarcane stalk can reach 4 metres in height, at which point the harvest can begin. It takes place once a year, generally from January to July, using harvesters.
Weighing
Quality control
Weighing the sugarcane is a crucial step that allows for controlling the quality and sugar content of the cane, in strict compliance with the Controlled Designation of Origin regulations (sugar content above 14 Brix).
Crushing
End of the harvest
The crushing, which extracts the juice from the sugarcane, is carried out a few hours after harvest to preserve the freshness of the cane and the aromas of the distilled cane juice.
After three successive crushings, the sugarcane has released all of its juice. The dry fibre that remains, called “bagasse,” is used to fuel the steam boiler furnaces.
FERMENTATION
Sugarcane Juice
“Vesou” is the name given to sugarcane juice. It ferments for 24 to 36 hours before the addition of yeast, which convert the sugar into alcohol. The resulting cane wine is characterised by an alcohol content of 3.5% and a pH between 3 and 4, in accordance with AOC standards.
DISTILLATION
A Continuous Process
Distillation involves extracting the alcohol contained in the cane wine using the heat from steam. The bagasse fuels the steam boilers, and in the distillation column, the steam comes into contact with the fermented juice, absorbing the alcohol. Which is passed through a condenser, it returns to a liquid state as a distillate with 71% alcohol by volume.
The Reduction
A Subtle Balance
The reduction stage in rum making involves meticulously adjusting the alcohol content to achieve perfect balance. This process allows the aromatic notes to be fully revealed.
Ageing
Know-how
The white rum obtained from distillation is placed in stainless steel vats for six to eight months, where a delicate process of gradual reduction allows it to lose its harshness and gain in roundness and flavour. Aged rum is then placed in oak barrels for at least three years, developing in aroma and flavour with subtlety, before being refined by the cellar master.