20 personalities decipher the last 10 years, and provide food for thought for the next 10.
How has the rum market changed over the last 10 years?
A lot has happened, but if we were to go back 10 years, the world of rum was centred on sweet rums. And the most important development over the last 10 years is that we’re moving towards rums that are less and less sweet. The novice consumers of the time have sharpened their palates and have less need for sweet flavours. Rum legislation on sugar is changing in this direction in Europe and very recently in the USA. We can therefore hope that rum will become a 100% sugar-free spirit.
How do you see it developing over the next 10 years?
I think we need to continue to reduce the sugar content of rum. We also need to better categorise the different types of rum, and better define what rum is. Several countries are in the process of adopting rules or changing their legislation in this area. This is a good thing, but we also need to be vigilant. As an agricole rum producer in Guadeloupe, I’m delighted to see that rum producers around the world are moving towards recognition of the product’s origin. But we have to be careful that the word rum remains at the centre of the debate. For example, in the GI for Cuba that is in the process of being registered, we are moving away from the original definition of rum, since it states that it can be produced from rehydrated sugar.
Another issue is the interest shown by large groups in smaller structures. I think we’re only at the beginning of a wave of takeovers. These large groups will have the capacity to push the rum industry towards a more structured structure, but we have to be careful that this is done in the interests of the small producers and not theirs. Beware of standardisation!
Do you have any news you’d like to share with us?
We’ve just acquired a superb spirits tourism tool, which will enable us to better welcome the public and explain the product. We’ll be starting work on a new winery next year. And the Collection de la Forêt (Forest Collection), which explores the importance of the forest’s origins on the aging of rum, is about to be launched. And in a year and a half, we’ll be celebrating 130 years of the distillery!
What does Rumporter mean to you?
For me Rumporter is about curiosity, it’s the medium that keeps me in touch with what’s happening in the world of rum from Guadeloupe.
