At the historic Depaz Distillery in Martinique, I discovered how rhum agricole is produced—and learned that “just one for the road” can be surprisingly heavy.
During my visit to the Depaz Distillery in Saint-Pierre, I learned that Martinique’s famous rhum agricole is made directly from freshly pressed sugarcane juice rather than molasses. I followed its journey from the weighing and crushing of the cane, through fermentation and distillation, all the way to the wooden barrels where the rum is left to mature.
The distillery stands on the historic Habitation La Montagne estate, surrounded by sugarcane fields on the volcanic slopes of Mount Pelée. Its story is inseparable from the devastating eruption of 1902, which destroyed Saint-Pierre. Victor Depaz, the only member of his family to survive because he was studying in France, later returned to Martinique and rebuilt the family estate.
Naturally, after learning how much time, skill and patience goes into every bottle, I decided to help with the final stage of production. Unfortunately, nobody warned me that ordering just one rum for the road meant carrying the entire barrel.
- Date
- 2026-01-01