A1710 La Perle Brute 2017. This is a rhum which caused a bit of stir at the London Rumfest back in 2018. La Perle Brute, which translates to the Raw Pearl is a rhum that is distilled from sugarcane juice, rather than molasses.

Situated in the North East of the Caribbean island Martinique, which is already famous for Rhum Agricole, sits the Yves Assier de Pompignan distillery. A very small distillery, which currently only produces white rhum agricole.

A1710 is the name of the producer/brand and they have produced this rhum on a Copper Still, which is equipped with a 7 tray Column. They have named this still “La Belle Aline”. The sugarcane used in the production of this rhum is cultivated by Mr Paul Octave, a nearby farmer. Paul produces varieties of Black, Yellow and Pen Epi Let sugarcane, which are all used in the making of A1710 La Perle Brute.

A1710 La Perle Brute are attempting to really show the “terroir” of Martinique Rhum Agricole, so this rhum has not been “diluted”. We are getting this rhum at 66% ABV still strength. No messing. Even for Rhum Agricole which is regularly released at 50% and 55% ABV this is pretty strong stuff!

This rhum was released in 2018 and you can still get find it online if you look around at the likes of Drinks & Co. As already noted this is a rhum agricole bottled at 66% ABV. The tall slim 50cl (500ml) bottle is smaller than normal 70cl (700ml) size and retails at around £/€50. Presentation is simple yet modern and the wax covered cap is a nice touch with a very decent synthetic cork stopper.

It looks unusual and it isn’t even immediately apparent that this is a rum/rhum. You have to move down the label to read that this is “Rhum Extraordinaire”. Quite a claim to be making.

With such boasts about the quality of the rhum I think it might be time to give this rhum agricole a bit of a run out.

In the glass we have a crystal clear sprit – this is completely unaged. The nose is familiar, lots of very fresh and very minty grassy notes. It’s a big smelly rhum, you can smell it from the other side of the room!

Lemon Leaf and zesty Lime Peel mingle alongside the freshly mown feels and the fresh minty notes. Notes of basil and some white pepper but in an appearance. There is a slight sour milk note as well but its not overpowering or unpleasant. It just adds a bit more depth.

Further nosing reveals a creaminess – which is almost cachaca like. Hints of pineapple juice and brusied bananas also give it a bit of a nod towards a Jamaican Overproof. It certainly has that kind of menace. It’s a potent full strength rhum.

Nose wise its certainly the kind of rhum, which early on in my rum journey I would have thought was revolting. But now now.

Sipped it’s very heavy on the citrus and the heat (unsurprisingly) on the initial sip. It’s a hot peppery rhum but there is also a lot of sweet citrus and sugarcane. This rhum is chock a block with flavour. It’s a huge flavourful spirit. I’ll be honest and say a drop or two of water does help bring out more the sweeter notes. So I would recommend trying that.

With it being unaged it doesn’t really have a great deal of development in the mid palate and the finish. The finish as it stands is pretty long but its mainly just a dulling of the initial burst of flavour. So you get a lot of spicy and citrusy flavour.

It’s almost 3/4 Rhum Agricole and a 1/4 Jamaican Overproof. It’s an intense beefy agricole. It works really well mixed in a Ti Punch or a Daiquiri. I even found it great with Ting. Cola not so great.

All in all ‘s a very interesting rhum. One, that perhaps will appeal more to rum geeks than the general population. I guess though the producers probably know that.

Well worth keeping an eye out for.