rivière-pilote, martinique -- In the languor of a steamy afternoon, the sweet aroma of fermenting sugar mingles with the scent of orchids, frangipani and hibiscus.
The perfume hangs over the La Mauny distillery, where Laurent Gervoise, a transplanted Frenchman, is at work on his sensuous concoction.
One part chemistry to two parts instinct, the tough decisions involving this French-ruled island's proudest product have already been made: the right patches of soil for growing the sugarcane, the perfect time to cut it, the optimum length of the stalks to be fed into the crusher to produce the freshest juice for rhum agricole.
Gervoise has spent the last decade midwifing the island's unique Appellation d'Origine Controlee, a seal of approval attesting to the origin and authenticity of each bottle of rum produced on the island, much as France oversees and certifies the quality of its finest wines.
"In the aging process, we are using barrels of various woods and from various countries, trying to assemble the different influences on the taste to create something harmonious," Gervoise said of the distillery's quest for an ever more luxurious product.
A slight, thoughtful man who fell captive to Martinique's beauty and promise during a business trip 18 years ago, Gervoise radiates passion for a distilling process he sees as having moved beyond industry to art form.
Riding an international wave of demand, Caribbean rum producers are hard at work refining their famously ruffian wares for the connoisseur. Once a shameful profit of New World slavery, the rotgut fuel of the American Revolution and the favored tipple for frat parties and prom night, rum has entered the crystal-and-cigars splendor of fine parlors.
Sales of ultra-premium rum grew 32% last year, faster than 10 of the 11 other spirits tracked by Nielsen Co., outdone on the luxury front only by top-line tequilas.
Although much of the trade is controlled by several multinational behemoths who mostly sell rum produced from distilled molasses, the exploding popularity of good rum presents struggling Caribbean economies such as Haiti, the Dominican Republic and Grenada with opportunities to cash in on the global thirst for their upscale spirits.
