rhum agricole

Pure sugar-cane juice can be fermented into a type of rum usually called rhum agricole or cachaça, and about 10 per cent of the world's rum is made this way. Almost all of this is produced either in Brazil or in former French colonies, though boutique distillers elsewhere are expanding on the style.

The French islands didn't have the luxury of a deep-pocketed navy bankrolling a rum industry. That's mainly because French sailors were drinking brandy... But one spirits-making tradition that has become synonymous with the French-controlled islands, particularly Martinique, is rhum agricole (rhum is the French spelling of rum). Similar to the way cachaça is produced, rhum agricole is distilled from pure sugarcane juice, rather than molasses (which is a by-product of cane processing).