By Alexander Britell

Just to the side of a centuries-old stone villa in the northeast of Martinique is what just might be the most exciting boutique rum distillery in the entire Caribbean.

And all it makes is white rum (for now, at least).

Yves Assier de Pompignan boutique distillery has quietly become a force in the world of rhum agricole — and a symbol of what makes this rum so special.

Yves Assier de Pompignan

With a series of small-batch rhum blanc releases, A1710 continues to display the meaning of terroir in Martinique.

But it’s also showing something else: that it’s time to rethink white agricole.

I recently had a long conversation with a spirits importer who was new to the world of agricole.

He was amazed with the quality and personality of white agricoles — they are almost their own category, he said.

And you know what? He was right.

While they’re terrific in a ti’ punch, the best white rhum agricole expressions are eminently sippable, oozing with character, flavor and terroir — a palpable connection to the soil that makes Martinique just such a special place.

While Martinique’s aged expressions are in a class by themselves, the white expressions are equally impressive — and, one might argue — an even more direct connection to the terroir, to the sugarcane itself.

More and more, Martinique’s producers are highlighting and experimenting with special-release white agricoles, from La Favorite’s wonderful red-cane varieties to Rhum Clement’s continued standard-setting with its blue cane rums.

But it’s A1710 that is at the forefront, making a concerted effort to show that pure white agricole is an ultra-premium product.

And its latest release achieves precisely that.

This is La Perle Brute, a white rhum made from black, yellow and “Pen Epi Let” cane varieties coming from the plot of a single farmer named Paul Octave.

So what’s it like?

This copper-still expression has a clean aroma of only the subtlest whispers of licorice, white pepper and cane stalk; magnificently fresh on the nose.

And what about the taste?

The peppery edge of the rum dances around the core flavor like a spicy cane helix, with notes of licorice, raw cane stalk, a hint of stone fruit and vanilla bean.

At once delicate and robust, it’s a playful duet of a glockenspiel and a timpani — with the latter a result of a decidedly robust 66-degree bottling.

It only underscores the standalone brilliance that so many white agricoles have — and that it’s time to start viewing them through a new prism.

Indeed, these expressions are some of the most artisanal, authentic, and mysterious spirits on the planet.

And they don’t get more exquisite than this one, one of the best white rums you will ever try.

Rum Journal Review

96 Points

The post Rum Journal: An Exquisite New Rum From Martinique’s A1710 appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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By the Caribbean ournal staff

Air France’s Joon low-cost airline is launching a new route to the Caribbean next year, Caribbean Journal has learned.

The carrier will be launching flights from Paris-Charles de Gaulle and St Maarten’s Princess Juliana International Airport, starting in the summer of 2018.

The flights will be operated on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays, with the service operated on Airbus A340 aircraft with 278 seats (that includes 30 in business, 21 in premium economy and 227 in economy.)

The millennial-focused Joon includes amenities like onboard streaming services, free drinks at any time of day in economy and a selection of gourmet and organic products to purchase.

Joon flights are significantly cheaper than similar routes on Air France, with routes on the new St Maarten flight launching at about 199 Euros one way, according to the company.

It’s also a boost for St Maarten, which has been looking to add new airlift as it recovers from Hurricane Irma.

— CJ

The post Air France’s Joon Is Launching St Maarten Flights appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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By the Caribbean Journal staff

Haiti was shaken by a 5.9-magnitude earthquake on Saturday evening, according to the United States Geological Survey.

The earthquake, one of the strongest to hit around Haiti since the devastating 2010 quake, was centered about 20 kilometers offshore of Port de Paix on the island’s northern coast.

There were preliminary reports of several deaths resulting from the quake.

Haiti’s Department of Civil Protection reported that there were also some injuries and damage resulting from the quake, although it was not yet clear the extent of the damage.

The quake, which struck at a depth of about 15 kilometers, caused reports of light shaking across Haiti mid the neighboring Dominican Republic.

It’s the latest of a recent wave of unusually strong quakes in the Caribbean, highlighted by a large shaking in Venezuela.

The Caribbean, it should be noted, is a seismically active region.

The post Haiti Shaken by 5.9-Magnitude Earthquake appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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By the Caribbean Journal staff

Canadians are flocking to Antigua and Barbuda, according to recently-released numbers from the Caribbean Tourism Organization.

In the first half of 2018, Antigua and Barbuda reported a total of 23,243 tourists from Canada, a number that represented a whopping 81.5 percent increase compared to the same period in 2017.

That growth rate was the highest increase in Canadian visitors of any destination in the Caribbean in the first half of 2018, according to the CTO report.

The report’s data was released during the Caribbean Tourism Organization’s State of the Industry conference at the Atlantis Paradise Island resort in The Bahamas this week.

Antigua saw a total of 148,139 tourists in the first half overall, which represented a 7.6 percent increase in stayover visitor arrivals compared to the first half of 2017.

The Caribbean destination which the next-highest growth rate from the Canadian market? Belize, which reported 22,381 visitors from Canada, a 43 percent jump over last year at this time.

— CJ

The post Canadians Are Flocking to Antigua and Barbuda appeared first on Caribbean Journal.

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