Rhum Agricole

Rum holds a unique place in Australian history, woven deeply into the nation’s colonial foundations, economic development, and cultural identity. Long before wine regions and craft breweries defined Australia’s drinking culture, rum was the colony’s most powerful commodity—socially, politically, and literally. Rum and the Birth of the Colony When the First Fleet arrived in New South Wales in 1788, Australia was an isolated penal colony struggling to survive. Food was scarce,

Today we are looking at a comparatively little-known tropical spirit in the English-speaking world, called Rhum Agricole, which traces its history to the distillers of Armagnac in France, and a miscalculation by one of Europe's most notorious emperors. Most of you will know that rum as we generally know it is made from either sugarcane molasses or sugarcane juice. Yes, there are other products sold as “rum” in some markets, like flavoured ethanol in some low-income countries;