Plantation

Even among the oldest and most famous brands of rum, there is no more aristocratic drink than Plantation. Terroir rums are rare in general, and Plantation (Vintage series) are premium terroir rums, perfected by French blenders. Alexandre Gabriel, president and owner of Maison Ferrand, calls himself a rum jeweler: the production technology of the drink is really similar to the process of cutting a diamond.

Historical reference. The grandfather of Alexander Gabriel owned a farm in Burgundy and was known among the neighbors as an excellent winemaker. From his youth, Alexander dreamed of his own enterprise for the production of traditional French drinks: wines and cognacs.

In 1989, Alexander Gabriel, a 23-year-old student at an American business school, was on his way to practice. On the train, he met an elderly entrepreneur, the owner of the company Pierre Ferrand. Pierre Ferrand cognacs have been produced since 1702 and are considered to be among the best in France. But the last owner of the company decided to retire, closed the company and was looking for a buyer to sell the remaining 30000 bottles in the cellars.

Monsieur Gabriel never graduated from the business school. He founded the Maison Ferrand company and devoted the next 10 years to the revival of the enterprise. The young businessman had to negotiate with bankers, restructure debts, and restart the plant. Every penny counted, and a huge number of empty cognac barrels accumulated in the company’s warehouses.

Rum is most often aged in bourbon barrels made from white American oak, the wood of which gives the drink a vanilla flavor. Cognac aging barrels are made from Limousin oak, which contains a lot of tannins. Such containers on the world market are three times cheaper than bourbon barrels: only a few rum producers know how to properly age the drink in cognac barrels.

In the early 90s, Monsieur Gabriel visited almost all the countries of the Caribbean, concluding contracts for the sale of barrels. Being an inquisitive person, the president of Maison Ferrand became interested in the rum production process and came to the conclusion that cognac containers would be useful to him.

Gabriel planned to create a series of premium rums, in which each drink would be made according to the technology of one of the Caribbean countries. From his own experience, the master knew the importance of terroir, so he first selected 15 sugarcane plantations located in different regions of the Caribbean. From the end of the 90s of the XX century until today, for at least 3 months a year, Monsieur Gabriel travels around the distilleries that process raw materials from these plantations and personally selects the best rum.

The new series of rums was called Plantation (“Plantation”, “Plantasion” in French transcription, “Plantation” in English). Plantation differs from most other European brands of rum in its production technology. Rum spirits arriving in France are poured into cognac barrels (volume 270 l) and aged for several years according to the Elevage method (translated from French – “education”).

Barrels of rum are placed in one of eight cellars, differing from each other in the level of humidity. Every two months, rum is tasted and a decision is made about its future fate: if the drink should be more spicy, it is transferred to a dry cellar to soften the taste – containers are installed in damp cellars, to give rum a fruity aroma – spirits are poured into barrels from under Calvados .

The company’s office is located in the Château de Bonbonnet – an estate near the city of Ars in the Charente department. Thanks to the local mild climate and aging features, rum acquires an exquisite taste, which is confirmed by numerous medals and certificates of prestigious competitions. To create new types of drink, Alexander Gabriel uses old recipes and notes of blenders of the XNUMXth-XNUMXth centuries.

In 2012, at the Golden Rum Barrel Award ceremony in London, Monsieur Gabriel was awarded the title of Rum Cellar Master (“Best Rum Blender”). Rum Plantation is exported to 50 countries. The president of the company claims that he makes rum for people with good taste who know how to enjoy life.

Gold medals received by Plantation rum:

• Plantation Jamaica 2001 – Rum XP Competition (USA) in 2011 and 2015;
• Plantation Barbados 2001 – Rum XP Competition 2012;
• Plantation Trinidad 2003 – Rum XP Competition 2011;
• Plantation Panama 2004 – Rum XP Competition 2012;
• Plantation Guyana 2005 – Rum XP Competition 2015;
• Plantation XO 20th Anniversary – Rum XP Competition 2015;
• Plantation Barbados 5 years – International Wine&Spirit Competition 2012 и Rum XP Competition 2015;
• Plantation Gran Añejo – Rum XP Competition 2012;
• Plantation 3 Stars – Rum XP Competition 2012;
• Plantation Original Dark – Rum XP Competition 2015;
• Plantation Overproof – Rum XP Competition в 2014 и 2015 г.;
• Stiggins’ Fancy Plantation Pineapple – Rum XP Competition 2015.

Types of Rum Plantation

Rum Plantation is divided into 4 categories:

• The Vintages is a terroir rum produced using the technology of a Caribbean country.
• The Signature Blends is a rum made according to the recipes of Maison Ferrand blenders.
• The Bar Classics – rum for cocktails.
• The Special Editions is a rum released for an important occasion.

Types of Vintage Rum:

• Plantation Jamaica 2001 – amber-colored rum, 42% abv. The drink is aged for 11 years in Jamaica in bourbon barrels, then 2 years in France, in cognac barrels. Rum is considered masculine because of the noble smoky-tobacco bitterness in taste, only slightly softened by the sweetness of molasses;
• Plantation Barbados 2001 – amber-colored rum (42%). The drink is aged for 11 years in Barbados, then 2 years in France. The taste is spicy-fruity, with dominant tones of pineapple, mango, cinnamon, cardamom and curry. The aftertaste is warm, biscuit-vanilla, with the sweetness of chocolate and candied fruit;
• Plantation Nicaragua 2003 – copper-amber rum (42%). The drink is aged for 9 years in Nicaragua, then for a year and a half – in France, in cognac barrels. On the palate, the sweetness of banana chips is balanced by hints of nutmeg and smoke, culminating in a caramel-spicy aftertaste;
• Plantation Trinidad 2003 – golden topaz color rum (42%). The drink is aged for 8 years in Trinidad in bourbon barrels, then 4 years in France, in cognac barrels. Rum is fragrant with nutmeg, peach and mango. Delicate flavors of lemon and pear give way to toasted almonds, popcorn and paprika. Aftertaste – spicy;
• Plantation St Lucia 2004 – dark amber rum (43%). The drink is aged for 10 years on the islands of Saint Lucia, then for a year and a half – in France. Rum smells like sugar cane, ripe bananas, geraniums and peonies. The taste is caramel, with a pleasant sourness and a hint of sea salt. The aftertaste harmoniously combines undertones of cloves, candied orange and dry wood;
• Plantation Panama 2004 – dark amber rum (42%). The drink is aged for 9 years in Panama, then 2 years in France. The aroma of violet and vanilla successfully emphasizes the fruity flavor of the drink, which gradually reveals hints of raisins, creamy toffee and cinnamon. Aftertaste – spicy, medium duration;
• Plantation Grenada 2004 – golden rum (42%). The drink is aged for 8 years in Grenada, then 2 years in France. The honey-caramel taste of rum is balanced by banana, melon and spicy tones. Aftertaste – long, creamy;
• Plantation Guyana 2005 – golden rum (45%). The drink is aged for 7 years in Guyana and 2 years in France. The taste is first dominated by notes of dried sage, new leather, sea salt, then they turn into a mild bitterness of cocoa with a hint of the sweetness of molasses. The aftertaste is very long, chocolate-raisin.

Types of rum Signature:

• Plantation XO 20th Anniversary – mahogany rum (40%), a blend of 12-20 year old rums. The first 8–10 years rum spirits are aged in Barbados, in bourbon barrels, then 2–10 years in France, in burnt cognac barrels of varying degrees of charring. The drink was first released in 2009, in honor of the company’s 20th anniversary. Monsieur Gabriel recommends pouring rum into a cognac glass and enjoying its floral-fruity aroma for at least 8 minutes, in which shades of marshmallow, vanilla and milk chocolate appear under the influence of the heat of the palm. The taste is chocolate-cinnamon with a hint of sugar cookies. The aftertaste is long, slightly sweet;
• Plantation Barbados 5 years – amber-golden rum (40%), a mixture of spirits that are aged for 3-4 years in Barbados and 1-2 years in France. Against the background of an intense vanilla aftertaste, a note of candied fruit gives way to a hint of ripe tropical fruits with a slight oak bitterness;
• Plantation Grande Reserve is a golden rum (40%), a blend of spirits that are aged for 2 years in Barbados and 1 year in France. In the fruity-vanilla taste, after the first sip, tones of white peach and coconut begin to dominate, balanced by a barely noticeable astringent bitterness of oak;
• Plantation Gran Añejo is a copper-amber color rum (42%), a blend of rums from Guatemala and Belize. Rum spirits are aged for 2-3 years in the tropics, then a year in France. An extravagant combination of shades of sherry and old port wine is replaced by a long aftertaste with notes of licorice, oak and virgin tobacco.

Types of rum Bar Classic:

• Plantation 3 Stars is a colorless, clear rum (41,2%), a blend of 2-3 year old Trinidadian rum, young Jamaican and Barbadian rum, and 10 year old Jamaican rum. The first sip has a biscuit flavor, which then reveals tones of dark chocolate, marshmallow, egg cream, vanilla and beer;
• Plantation Original Dark is an old amber color rum (40%), a blend of 3-year-old Trinidadian and 15-20-year-old Jamaican rums. Piquant peppery taste is softened by hints of raisins, pineapple, prunes. Aftertaste – warm, spicy;
• Plantation Overproof is a copper-red rum (73%), a blend of 3-year-old Trinidadian and 15-20-year-old Jamaican rums. Spicy aftertaste of nutmeg, cinnamon and vanilla reveals honey-caramel and nut tones.

Ром Special Edition

In 2011, Monsieur Gabriel and blender David Wondrich created a pineapple rum specifically for Tales of the Cocktail, an annual workshop for bartenders and spirits producers. It was named Stiggins’ Fancy Plantation Pineapple after the Pickwick Papers hero Reverend Stiggins, who preached temperance sermons by day and sipped pineapple rum in the evening.

A drink with a strength of 40%, which is not a liqueur or tincture, but namely rum with a touch of pineapple, lemon peel and cloves, was so liked by the participants of the seminar that Alexander Gabriel launched it into mass production.