The new rums manufactured by United Spirits Producers (USP) could well go to rum lovers? heads. This company, a partnership between Medine Sugar Estate and J. Chatel SARL from Reunion since 1996, intends to launch two new products on the Mauritian market. After Chatel and Blue Bay, the ?old rum? should be on the shelves next month while the ?agricultural rum? will probably be marketed next year.

All these varieties of rum come from a different production process. The old rum is ?ordinary rum? made from molasses, which has been maturing in casks since 1997 in certain cases. The 5,000 bottles of Cascavelle will be developed in three ranges: 3 years, 5 years and 7 years. ?With this new product, we have turned from an industrial process to a manual one,? explains Jean-François Koenig, in charge of the alcohol and spirits department at Médine. As soon as the rum is ready, it is bottled in a luxurious packaging with a tin cap and a golden sticker. ?The Cascavel old rum is a high standard product. The packaging has to correspond to the quality of the rum.?

While ordinary rum is made from molasses, the agricultural rum that Medine will launch next year is made with sugar cane juice in a far more traditional way. ?The rum made with sugar cane juice should have a better taste. As it made with real juice, the quality of this product will be better.?

Why start to do it only now? ?The law prohibited the use of sugar cane juice to make rum until last year. There was a clause stating that ?cane is grown in Mauritius to produce sugar?.?

The factory has already started to make this new type of rum on a trial basis in smaller tanks than the ones used for other types of alcohol. Fermentation and distillation are done in different tanks to guarantee the specificity of the product. A certain quantity of this type of rum is ready but the company now has to concentrate on the packaging before marketing.

But USP is not only concened with future products. The company is already well established in the field of spirits with Chatel Punch and Blue Bay, products entirely made in Mauritius. ?In 1996, when Société J. Chatel decided to invest in Mauritius, Médine Sugar Estate was the obvious choice as a local partner, as it was already producing both sugar cane and rum. The two partners decided to pool their expertise to put Indian Ocean rum on the international scene,? the brochure states.

Unique character

USP thus produces Chatel for the local market but also for export. ?Mauritius benefits from lower production costs. As a result, it is easier for Chatel to export from Mauritius than from Reunion.? The cocktails are made with rum, natural fruit juice and cane sugar; all the ingredients are mixed according to a special recipe from Reunion. There are 12 exotic flavours ranging from coconut, vanilla and lychee to peach and grapefruit, for instance.

Blue Bay seems to be the ?baby? of the company. When Jean-François Koenig speaks of this 100% ?made in Mauritius? product, his eyes sparkle. Maybe because of the ?seal of approval? awarded to USP by the Spirit International Challenge of London in 2003. However, he gives away no secrets about the recipe for this light rum: ?There is a small quantity of sugar cane juice and other ingredients,? he says with a smile.

He is even prouder when he says that his first order from France should be going off very soon. ?Blue Bay is already being exported to Italy and Switzerland but this first export to France means a lot for us!?

This rum is said to be fresh and complex with sugar cane flavours. It is described as offering an aromatic ?palette? that contributes to its unique character. A special way of tasting it? ?It is ideal for cocktails but can also be taken on the rocks? But you should be careful? it?s powerful stuff!

The production process

Rum production is divided into two main steps: fermentation and distillation. Molasses comes from the sugar factory and is mixed with water and mineral salts. Then, the mixture is placed in big tanks with yeast to ferment. What is obtained then is a sort of wine with 8% alcohol. Then, the distillation ? contrarily to fermentation ? is done on a continuous basis, 24 hours out of 24. The first step is to extract alcohol from the wine. Then, it will be concentrated until the alcohol content reaches 94%. The rectifying process will take out most of the off-flavours. Then, it is purified and diluted. Finally, it is concentrated again to reach 95% alcohol. The result is light rum or a ?superfine? alcohol, with no taste or smell. Ideal for making vodka for instance?