Spirits

Rhum Agricole

Rhum agricole is rum distilled from the pressed juice of freshly cut sugar cane, not from molasses, made in the French Caribbean and Madeira, with a grassy, vegetal taste. INAO dates Martinique's appellation, AOC Rhum de la Martinique, to 1996. Our Ti’ Punch and Three Dots and a Dash count a blanc at 50% ABV.

Quick Facts

ABV50% ABVINAO’s Martinique specification sets a 40% floor; our recipes count a blanc at 50%.

Legal categorySpiritCane-juice rum may be called agricultural only with a French overseas or Madeira name

OriginMartinique and the French Caribbean

Flavour Strengthstrong

Our keeping timeIndefinitely unopened. Once opened, years if kept sealed and upright out of the light, though the aroma fades slowly.

Storage

Sealed and upright out of direct light, like any spirit. No refrigeration needed.

Allergens

None of the 14 listed allergens.

The ingredient

About Rhum Agricole

Flavour Profile

Primary Flavours

GrassyVegetalBright

Tasting Notes

Fresh-cut cane, green olive and citrus pith over a dry, high-toned spirit: rum with the earth still on its boots.

Fresh cane juice is the whole difference

Molasses is the usual starting point for rum. Rhum agricole begins with the juice of freshly cut cane, which has to be fermented within hours before it spoils, so the distilleries sit among the fields and work during the harvest. The result keeps the plant's green, grassy character, which no molasses rum reproduces.

GB spirit drink law recognises the style: rum made from cane juice may be sold as agricultural rum, but only with the name of one of the French overseas departments or Madeira beside it.

Martinique holds the only rum appellation

Rhum de la Martinique became an AOC in 1996, and INAO, the French body that runs appellations, describes it as the only rum in the world with one. The rules require cane juice, set the distillation strength at 65 to 75%, which keeps more of the cane's flavour than distilling higher would, and fix three categories.

The three categories of AOC Rhum de la Martinique, as INAO’s specification sets them; the use column is ours.

Blanc

Time in wood: None; rested after distillation
Use: Ti’ Punch and mixing

Élevé sous bois

Time in wood: At least twelve months
Use: Mixing or neat

Vieux

Time in wood: At least three years, bottled in Martinique
Use: Neat or stirred

Category	Time in wood	Use
Blanc	None; rested after distillation	Ti’ Punch and mixing
Élevé sous bois	At least twelve months	Mixing or neat
Vieux	At least three years, bottled in Martinique	Neat or stirred

The Ti’ Punch is built for the blanc

Our Ti’ Punch cuts a coin-sized disc from the side of a lime, squeezes it over the glass, adds 10ml of cane syrup and 60ml of agricole blanc, and stirs for a few seconds. It is served without ice or over a single cube. Three Dots and a Dash takes 45ml of agricole, the IBA's choice, with 15ml of aged rum underneath it.

Its closest relative is Brazil's cachaça, also from cane juice and usually softer.

Using it

Using Rhum Agricole

Usage

60ml of agricole blanc in our Ti’ Punch, with a coin of lime and 10ml of cane syrup, and 45ml in Three Dots and a Dash, over 15ml of aged rum. Mix with a blanc; keep the older vieux bottles for sipping neat.

Pro Tip

For a Ti’ Punch, slice a small round of skin, with a little flesh behind it, off the lime's side. Squeezing a whole wedge gives a sour drink; the disc gives oil and a touch of juice, which is the point.

Top Tips

Read the strength. A recipe balanced on 40% rum will run hot with a stronger blanc.
Use cane syrup beside it where you can. It comes from the same plant, and our Ti’ Punch calls for it.
Buy a blanc first. It shows the style most clearly and is the one our recipes use.
A white rum keeps the shape of the drink but loses the grass. Use it only if you have no agricole.

Possible Substitutions

Cachaça: The closest cousin, softer and rounder
White Rum: A dry one: keeps the drink, loses the grass

Production Method

Fresh-pressed sugar cane juice, fermented quickly before it spoils and distilled in column stills. Martinique’s AOC, which INAO calls the only rum appellation, regulates everything from cane variety and yield to distillation strength, which is why the island’s bottlings define the style.

Go further

More to explore

Common Questions

What is rhum agricole?

Rum distilled from freshly pressed cane juice, fermented within hours, rather than from molasses. It is made in the French Caribbean islands, chiefly Martinique, and in Madeira. The juice gives it a grassy, vegetal, sometimes peppery taste that a molasses rum does not have.

Is rhum different from rum?

Rhum is the French spelling. Rhum agricole begins with pressed juice; most rum, including rhum industriel from the same islands, is made from molasses. Under Regulation (EC) 110/2008, cane-juice rum may only be called agricultural rum alongside the name of a French overseas department or Madeira.

What does AOC Martinique mean on a bottle?

That the rhum meets INAO’s rules for the Rhum de la Martinique appellation, granted in 1996: made in Martinique from cane juice, distilled to between 65 and 75%, and sold as blanc, élevé sous bois with at least twelve months in wood, or vieux with at least three years.

Is rhum agricole the same as cachaça?

They are cousins. Both are made from the juice of the cane, not molasses, and taste grassier than molasses rum. Cachaça is Brazilian, defined at 38 to 48% in Brazil’s rules as quoted in the US rule 78 FR 12591, and usually softer. Agricole comes from the French Caribbean or Madeira, is often bottled stronger and tends to read drier and sharper.

Should I buy blanc or vieux?

Blanc for mixing. It is unaged, often at 50%, and it is what our Ti’ Punch and Three Dots and a Dash assume. Under INAO’s rules, vieux has at least three years in wood and tastes of oak and dried fruit as well as cane; it is better neat than shaken with juice.

How strong is rhum agricole?

INAO’s Martinique specification sets a 40% ABV floor, and a blanc can be bottled well above it. Our recipes assume 50%, so 60ml in a Ti’ Punch holds three UK units. A 40% bottle makes the same drink weaker and slightly sweeter.

Sources.

Correct as of 16 October 2026.

legislation.gov.uk, “Regulation (EC) No 110/2008, Annex II (as retained in UK law)”.
INAO, “Rhum de la Martinique”.
INAO, “Cahier des charges de l’appellation d’origine contrôlée Rhum de la Martinique”.
GovInfo, “Amendment to the Standards of Identity for Distilled Spirits (Cachaça), 78 FR 12591”.

From the Guides

The French style and its appellation

Make something

Made with Rhum Agricole

Featured In These Cocktails

Ti’ Punch Three Dots and a Dash

Often Used With

Updated 16 October 2026

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