A 1710 know-how

At the heart of the Habitation du Simon, we elaborate several vintages of white rums, including La Perle Rare, produced from organic cane, as well as vintages of extra-aged rums and an exclusive barrel-aged rum. Each production stage is a subtle balancing act combining the excellence of ancestral expertise with the demands of modern techniques to ensure that our rums reflect all the wealth and heritage of Martinique and the West Indies.

Agricultural white rums

A 1710 white rums are entirely home-produced:
planting, crushing, distillation and bottling.

    Cane harvest

    Canes are harvested throughout the year to meet daily production requirements.

    Small neighbouring local growers deliver their batches of various varieties of cane to ensure a broad range of flavours.

    We also plant our own cane on the Habitation du Simon site.
    Because of the nature of the land and our desire to preserve the quality of the cane, we cut by hand.

    Cutting requires rigorous know-how: great concentration, precision and fluidity in every movement.
    The gesture is precise and incisive, and once the cane has been cut, it is assembled into a bundle ready for pressing.

    To ensure the freshness of the juices and limit oxidation, our hand-cut canes are transported to the mill house, at the heart of the domain, where they are pressed in our three-roll mill, similar to those used since the 19th century.
    Once collected, the fresh cane juice is immediately placed in our fermentation vats. Next, it is stored in the latest generation of refrigerated vats.

    The distillery

    Our slow refrigerated fermentation process is combined with the use of specific strains of yeasts. The cooling system creates deeper aromas by allowing the yeasts to thrive.

    A 1710 agricultural white rums are distilled in a Charentais still. A 7-tray distillation column, also made of copper, has been incorporated into this bare-heated still, known as ‘La Belle Aline’. The presence of copper generates a saponification effect (the interaction between copper and vapours) imparting a different flavour to the distilled wines.

    An ancestral yet modern process.

    Very old rums

    Our three cuvées of very old rums, “Soleil de Minuit”, “Tricentenaire” and “Nuée Ardente”
    are all hand-bottled at l’Habitation in our original decanter, each one numbered.

    In their own way, our extra-aged rums sublimate the terroirs of Martinique and the West Indies by highlighting the diversity of flavours.

    The very old A 1710 rums are produced in the Habitation A 1710 cellar from blends of great agricultural rums, and also, depending on the vintage, of certain molasses grands crus, added in small doses. These extra-aged rums matured between 8 and 17 years and originate from Martinique and Guadeloupe.

    Cellar ageing of old rums A 1710

    Our cellar is located at the heart of the domain in an old timber and stone building. It benefits from a remarkable thermal amplitude given its location, between the sea and the mountains, which facilitates the work of our tun, once used by great Cognac houses.

    After this three-year period, they are blended in so-called "foudres" (casks) in two stages. First, the base cut, which is the first blend and will serve as the common trunk for the three cuvées, is removed and left to rest for 8 weeks.
    Next, we add other rums to the basic cut in the desired quantities, and leave this combination to rest for a further 8 weeks. Finally, all our rums are poured into ‘goutte’ (drop-shaped) decanters and numbered at the property. This know-how is unique and specific to A 1710.