August 13th, 2008 · No Comments

By John DeFore

Just because a green initiative pops up in the news doesn’t mean it’s new. Take a blurb in this month’s Food & Wine that puts Rhum Clément’s Première Canne Rum at the head of a list of eco-friendly spirits.

The item touted a green-extreme sounding manufacturing process that is powered by its own waste materials. What it doesn’t mention is that this is the way Clément has done things for at least seven decades.

“The technology that we are using today has been in place and in full operation since 1934,” says Benjamin Mélin-Jones, the managing director of the company and a fourth generation member of its namesake clan.

As Mélin-Jones puts it, “The spent sugarcane is solely used to fuel the steam engine, which runs the distillery.” Two distilleries, in fact, one that produces Rhum J.M (”rhum” is the French spelling of “rum”) and one that makes the Clément line. After sugarcane is pressed to extract its juice, he explains, the remaining “ruffage” is dried before being fed into the engine which drives the cane-crushing and distilling process. (The company relies on “normal street power” for its other electric needs.)

Having tasted some of the line, I can agree with experts at Wine Enthusiast and elsewhere who rank it in the top tier of its class. Première Canne has a rich enough flavor, in fact, that — though I was skeptical when I saw the company’s recipe — you can make a fine mojito without adding sugar or syrup. For cocktails that do need additional sweetening, like margaritas, the distiller’s Créole Shrubb is a less-sweet alternative to other orange liqueurs. Why overdose on the orange, after all, when you’re drinking green?

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