What is Terroir? The definition is the
complete natural environment in which a particular wine is produced, including
factors such as the soil, topography, and climate, the characteristic taste and
flavor imparted to a wine by the environment in which it is produced.
Rum is not a spirit that you hear many
people talk about the terroir of, but in certain cases it is a very real
factor. This is especially clear when
the rum is made from cane juice rather than molasses. The place where the sugar cane is grown has a
real effect on the flavor of the spirit.
When rum is made in the French style, from cane juice, the Terroir
becomes evident. There are a number of
rums made from cane juice all around the world and they are all different in
taste.
Rums made in Hawaii from locally grown
sugar cane have a very different taste from those made from sugar cane grown in
Martinique, Venezuela, Cuba, Mexico, California, Haiti, Jamaica, Dominican
Republic, or Brazil. Each has its own
terroir and imparts a different taste and flavor to the rums. There is a difference in the taste and flavor
in rums that are made from molasses that originates in different places, but
the terroir of the rums made from sugar cane becomes even more apparent.
