Ti Punch

Rhum JM

Another rum distillery we visited in Martinique was Rhum JM.  Located on the very northern end of the island, Rhum JM does not see as many visitors as the other distilleries.

Rhum JM’s operation did not seem as advanced, nor its capacity as large as some of the other distilleries on the island such as St. James, which we also visited.

When we arrived the first thing we noticed was the smell.  Whatever they were pumping into that pond was bad, really bad.  We hurried into their air conditioned and smell proof museum/tasting room.  All of the signage on the displays was in French and tours were not available.  So, that only left tasting.

In French with limited English, our hostess recommended we try the national drink of Martinique, a Ti Punch, pronounced “tea pauncchh.”  Ti Punch is short for “Petit Punch,” meaning a “small punch.”  Because the drink is strongly alcoholic, I question whether they are talking about its size or effect.

“Chacun prepare sa proper”

(Each prepares his own death)

Traditionally, instead of serving a mixed drink the bartender or host will place out the ingredients, and everyone will prepare the drink to his or her own taste.  Let’s begin.

Pour a small amount (about 2 tablespoons) of cane syrup into a small tumbler.  Sugar can be used, but the syrup makes for a better drink.

Two ounces of rhum agricole are added to the glass.  Rhum agricole is rum made from squeezed sugar cane instead of molasses.  White rum is traditional, but many of us less indoctrinated prefer rum that has been aged a little.  White rum can be a bit rough around the edges.

Roll a fresh lime around on a hard surface to release the juice, cut in half and squeeze into the glass.

Next, using your “Bois Lele,” a multipronged swizzle stick, mix the ingredients.  Using a spoon is not acceptable.

Traditionally, Ti Punch is consumed neat (sans ice), but we Americans have to have ice in everything.

This posting dedicated to Rahel, a true Ti Punch aficionado.

See: http://habibisails.blogspot.com/

Tots to the Queen

While waiting for dinner at the Life Bar & Grill near Falmouth Harbour in Antigua, we notice a group of English expatriates toasting the Queen.  We had observed such behavior before when we had stayed at Nelson’s Dockyard in English Harbour, but did not realize that Tots to the Queen was a mobile organization.

Peter, pictured on the right, is the current “Rum Bosun” for The Royal Naval Tot Club of Antigua and Barbuda.  He explained that occasionally the location of the tot was moved due to the closure of the normal hosting establishment.  However, he explained the Friday night’s tot would be held at their normal digs in Nelson’s Dockyard, and that we were invited as his guests.

Nelson’s Dockyard

With its place in British Navy history stretching back to the 1670’s, Nelson’s Dockyard is a fitting home to a club that requires a test on Royal Naval history for its aspiring members.  Prior to the daily tot there is a reading of Royal Naval history pertinent to that day.  An especially good day includes a reading whereas the English were once again victorious over the French.

A tot at 1800 hours to signal the end of the working day was a proud tradition of the Royal Navy until 1970 when sadly it was discontinued.  The Tot Club, however carries on the proud tradition, “To confirm daily allegiance to and/or respect for the Crown by proposing the Loyal Toast to Her Majesty, the Queen.”

Picture by permission of the Royal Naval Tot Club of Antigua and Barbuda

After the “Reading” the Queen is toasted.  There is a toast for everyday of the week. 

Friday’s toast - “To a Willing Foe and Sea Room and the Queen, God Bless Her.” 

Guests are then required to drink a full Tot (1/2 a gill of Pusser’s Blue Label Rum).  Lady Guests may drink a half measure, however all aspiring members (lady or gentlemen) must drink a full Tot.  An aspiring member is required to drink seven full Tots within 14 days.  Should your liver hold out, after the sixth Tot, an aspiring member must take a verbal test on Royal Naval History.

Picture by permission of the Royal Naval Tot Club of Antigua and Barbuda

Being more than merely a social club, The Tot Club engages in many activities within Antigua including donating funds and “Destroying Nature to Preserve History.”  The Tot Club was once listed in a UK magazine as the world’s second most prestigious yacht club.  Hmm, I wonder what was first.

Bacardi

The “Cathedral of Rum”

Originating in Cuba, Bacardi Rum expanded to Puerto Rico in 1936 building a distillery in San Juan.  Later the distillery was relocated to its present site in Catano, Puerto Rico, outside of San Juan, and facilities in Cuba were nationalized by the Castro regime.

Visitors’ Center and Tasting Pavilion

We visited the home of “the king of rums” with our friends Chris and Michele who were guests on Motivator while we were in Puerto Rico.

On the Bacardi tour, Michele was wearing a T-shirt that is a testament to my docking abilities.

As close as we got to actual production facilities

From its humble beginnings in Cuba in 1862 with fruit bats in the rafters (hence the bat for their logo), the Bacardi family has owned the company for the past seven generations.  It now employees 6,000 people with sales in more than 150 countries.  Company sales in the US for 2007 were $5.5 billion.  

Rivers Rum Distillery in Grenada

So now, I think it is safe to say we have visited the distillery with the largest (Bacardi) and the one with the smallest production (Rivers Rum).  I think the cases in the foreground are Rivers Rum’s production for the week or maybe for the month.

Photographs only in foyer and outside

But unlike Rivers Rum that let us see the down and dirty of rum making (see: posting November 19, 2012), Bacardi was very protective of proprietary information and would not allow photographs of even their crude mockups of production facilities.

Inscription: “Thank You 2013”

Bacardi did however, have a very nice gift shop with reasonably priced souvenirs, bar supplies, and product.  Before returning the US, our guests presented us with this limited production of blended rums that have been aged an average of 12 years or more.  We are saving it for a special occasion and hope that the inscription means that they will visit us again in 2014.

Habitation Clement

No, Habitation Clement is not a golf course, even though its grounds are better manicured than most.  It is a sugar plantation and distillery.

Beyond the manicured area are acres of sugar cane and banana trees.

The plantation, Mahogany, was purchased by Homer Clement (born in Trinidad in 1852) in 1887 following the sugar crisis of 1880.  Homer Clement, a physician and politician, did not start producing Rhum Clement until 1917.  After Homer’s death in 1923 his son Charles Clement (1901 – 1973) continued operations and modernized the distillery.

Animal powered cane crusher

The distillery process for Rhum Clement has been moved into modern facilities, but the original equipment has been preserved and is on display throughout the grounds of Habitation Clement.

An impressive part of the display was the steam powered cane crusher that replaced the animal powered crusher.

After the pressure from the steam was used to power equipment, the heat from the steam was used in the distillation process.

Originally, cane from the fields was brought to the distillery via steam powered rail tractors.  Evidently, the cane must be quickly processed after harvest so as to retain the sugar content.

After World War II, the Marshall Plan introduced le GMC to replace the rail tractors.

The aging process in oak barrels was the only part of the process that was on the tour.  By Martinique standards, “old rum” must stay in the barrels at least 3 years.  Rhum Clement is aged for 3, 8 and 10 years.  The smell of alcohol in these buildings is very strong.  About 8% of the volume of the barrel is lost each year to evaporation through the oak and is replaced with rum of the same age. 

Today, the property is a heritage site and part of the Clement Foundation that supports contemporary art exhibits.  In 1991 the site was chosen to host the Presidents Francois Mitterrand and George Bush following the Gulf War.

And, they make some really good rum.

Rivers Rum Distillery

Established in 1785, Rivers Rum is the oldest distillery on Grenada.

The process starts with bundles of sugar cane.

The bundles are fed to the crusher via a conveyor belt.

Both the conveyor belt and the crusher are powered by a water wheel driven by a diverted stream.

Sugar Cane Crusher

Rivers Rum has not suffered much modernization since 1785.

Once all of the juice is removed from the cane, it is returned to the fields as mulch.

The cane juice is delivered to the boiling house via a wooden guttering system.

In the boiling house the cane juice is processed into syrup by being boiled in a sequence of copper pots and with the addition of lime as a purifier and to achieve the proper acidity.

The syrup is then placed in a tank and allowed to cool.

After two days, it is pumped upstairs to the tanks where the fermentation process occurs using yeast from the atmosphere.

The fermented juice is sent to the distillery which has three sections, the boiler, the vaporizer and the condenser.

All of the heat used in the process is produced by burning wood.

The final stage, bottling and crating, is all done by hand.

Rivers Rum does not have facilities for aging in casks so all they offer is light or flavored rum.  Their rum has a very high alcohol content.  I would rate it one step above moonshine, but their distillery was a fascinating step back in time.