The rhums of Martinique proudly display the A.O.C. (Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée ) label. The label is printed in the size, typestyle and position required by the national committee of the A.O.C. As mentioned before this roughly translates into "spirits of controlled origin". The term was invented and established in 1996 by France. The subject at hand...
AOC: A long needed designation, or a marketing ploy designed to capture a term of art?
Let's start by reviewing some of the regulations - and trust me, this is the short version!
I guess you need written permission of the national committee to pee during business hours, using only the right hand, for not more than 60 seconds and shaken, not stirred after.For rhums "Martinique", supplemented by the mention "Rum Agricole":
Must be obtained by distillation of fermented fresh juice of cane with sugar. (Note: "fresh" is not defined)
Limited to the territory of the twenty-three communes of the department of Martinique.
Must be collected in pieces delimited by cadastral sections, pieces or parts of pieces, as approved by the national committee. The plans of delimitation are deposited with the town hall of the common interested parties.
The varieties of planted and cultivated canes must be registered on a list, approved by the national committee after opinion of a technical commission, indicated by the aforementioned national committee
The techniques of plantation and maintenance of the cultures of cane must be in conformity with the local practice. For one year of harvest, the period of cut starts as soon as possible at January 1 and is completed at the latest at August 31.
The irrigation is limited to four months following the date of cut or plantation... spreading of substances on the canes in order to support their maturation is prohibited. Harvests with or without burning by hand or mechanics are authorized.
The average output of a piece cannot exceed 120 tons per hectare.
Only the fresh juice or vesou can be implemented. The minimal values of Brix and the pH of the juice extracts from the canes must be higher than 14 for the Brix and pH 4.7 for the juice. These minimal values can be increased, by interministerial decree, according to the climatic data.
The methods of measurement of each collecting are approved by the national committee
The use of syrup and/or molasses coming from the manufacture of cane sugar is prohibited. (Emphasis added)
The canes must undergo a preparation by means of materials and of processes approved by the national committee after opinion of the technical commission.
The extraction must be made by mechanical cold pressure in traditional mills whose working width of the cylinders of crushing does not exceed 125 meters... must be made exclusively at ambient temperature starting from water and/or of small juices of the last mills. (Note: water is added)
At the end of the milling, the juice must be filtered cold of suspended matter by sifting or other suitable mechanics.
Liming is prohibited.
Fermentation is of discontinuous type, out of an open tank of a maximum capacity of 500 hectolitres. Continuous fermentations and out of closed tanks are prohibited. Yeast is limited to only yeasts belonging to the Saccharomyces kind. The duration of fermentationcannot exceed 72 hours at a temperature not exceeding 38.5° C. The fermented juices must present a minimum voluminal alcoholometric title of 3.5 parts per 100 in volume.
The national committee specifies the conditions of control of fermentation, and in particular the procedures: - of a nitrogenized and phosphated complement which can be brought at the time of fermentation; acidification which ensues by lowering of the pH, the protection of fermentation levurienne against the bacterial development.
Distillation must be done in columns with continuous operation used traditionally in Martinique, whose principal characteristics are as follows: - heating by vapor injection; diameters in the exhaustion part: ranging between 0.7 and 2 meters; concentration: realized by 5 to 9 copper plates. The columns having 10 or 11 plates can be used until the harvest of the year 2001; exhaustion: realized by at least 15 copper or stainless plates; retrogradation: realized by one or more wine-heating stills or water-cooled condensers out of copper.
The columns must be approved by the national committee.
The produced rhums must exit at the temperature of 20° C a voluminal alcoholometric title ranging between: - minimum: 65 p. 100 vol.; - maximum: 75 p. 100 vol., and in all the cases, they must present a content of volatile elements of at least carbinols and ethyl of 225 grams per hectolitre of pure alcohol.
Each distilling must make carry out analyses of its production by a laboratory approved by the ministers concerned, after opinion of the national Institute of the labels of origin. The frequency of the analyses must be at least weekly.
The rhums of origin "Martinique" must enter one of the following categories:
Not to present any colouring and to have satisfied one period of minimum of three months of aging after distillation. In this case, the mention "blanc" must supplement the name. For the white rhums, storage in wood is not permitted. . A rum having received the certificate of approval for white rum cannot be further aged in wood. In all the cases, at the time of release to the market, the rhums must present a voluminal alcoholometric equal to or higher than 40 p. 100.
Rum aged in wood - must be placed in oak as defined in article 2. The duration of aging is at least twelve months without interruption. These rhums cannot be presented for examination prior to the eleventh month of aging. The content of these rhums of elements other than ethanols and methyl must be at least equal to 250 grams per hectolitre of pure alcohol, at the end of the minimal period of aging.
The mention "vieux" must be used with the label AOC "Martinique" to indicate meet all the following conditions: - ageing using the production and the conditions defined above, must be at least three years completed out of barrels of oak of a capacity lower than 650 liters. They can be presented for examination only after the thirty third months of aging in wood; - the quantity of volatile elements other than the ethanols and methyl, must be at least equal to 325 grams per hectolitre of pure alcohol, at the end of the minimal period of aging. The rhums "vieux" can mention a higher duration of ageing.
The rhums for cannot be declared for manufacture, be offered to the consumers, be dispatched, put on sale without, in the declaration of manufacture, on the titles of movement, on the leaflets, labels, invoices, containers unspecified, name being registered and is accompanied by the mention "label of origin controlled" in very apparent characters. The term "Rum Agricole" must supplement the name of the label of origin in commercial documents and titles of movement. It must be reproduced on labelling in the same visual field as that of the controlled label of origin "Martinique". In labelling, the mention "blanc" or "vieux" must be registered in very apparent characters, in the same visual field as the controlled label of origin. Dimensions of the characters of the mention "blanc" or "vieux" should not be higher as well in height as in width than those of the characters composing the name of name.
The use of any indication or any sign designed to lead the purchaser to believe that a rum has right to AOC "Martinique", whereas it does not answer all the conditions is will be prosecuted in accordance with the general legislation on fraud and the protection of the labels of origin if it is necessary.
In any drink, when a rum of the controlled label of origin "Martinique" is used jointly with another rum, the mixture thus obtained loses the right to the label.
Furthermore - and like all attempts to legislate - the regs are full of loopholes. What exactly constitutes "fresh" cane juice? Since water can be added, can it also be removed? Is the removal of a bit of water (to prevent premature fermentation, a thin "semisyrup") a violation? Rum from full blown (thick) sugar syrup or molasses is not permitted, but only if resulting "from the manufacture of cane sugar" - does removal of a bit of water, not related to sugar manufacture, count?
Spare me.
Amazing. The beauty of rum has always been its amazing diversity. Rum making was and is an art, made for over 300 years based on the most minimal of definitions, to wit "...a spirit distilled from sugarcane juice, sugarcane molasses or the refuse of the sugarcane at a strength not exceeding 150% proof" (Jamaica, 1941). Historically the major division was made by the French who designated rum made from sugarcane juice as "agricultural" and that from molasses as "industrial".
And that's the way it was until 1996.
So whatever happened to all the agricultural rhum produced for over a century in the rest of the West Indies (and in Martinique as well)? Ian Williams (author of "Rum") says it best: "In a stroke of snobbery they have converted every other rum in the world to mere 'industrial' alcohol".
"Rhum Agricole" in Martinique, at least the French AOC legal version, is no longer rhum as art but rather rhum by regulation - oppressively strict and designed to exclude all agricultural rhums made elsewhere.
I reject and renounce this artificial and legalistic marketing strategy. I reject the notion that tradition and common usage can be so easily erased. And I renounce, repeal and refuse to accept that rum or rhum by regulation will ever supplant rum as art.
Sorry my dear high (and deep) pocketed snobs, but that's the way it is for me. YMMV.