“We select a white rum that has structure, because it is a rum that will remain locked up in a barrel for at least 12 months. Then I ask the cooper to provide me with oak barrels of French or American origin (at La Mauny they are American barrels). I also ask him to do some “heats”. This is a very important action in the aging process. We insert in the barrel a “heater”, a small metal container in which we put the same type of wood. By burning it, it allows to cook the limin and the sap of the wood, and to decompose the elements that constitute the wood. The intensity and duration of the toasting have an influence on the aromas of the future rum. A light toasting will result in a fruity, floral, honeyed aroma. An extra-strong toasting will give empyreumatic notes of toast, cocoa, coffee, mocha.
Once the rum is put in the barrel, there is an evaporation that is called the “angels’ share” of about 8%. This is the particularity of aging in a tropical climate which acts 4 times faster than aging in temperate latitudes, as for cognac for example where the angels’ share represents only 2%. This difference will be found throughout the process. The climate will also reinforce the concentration of aromas and “wear out” the barrel four times faster. When we take out an old rum after 10 years, it is equivalent to a 40 year old cognac!”
Tonneau Chai Trois-Rivières Sainte-Luce Martinique
