Karukera
The history of Karukera rum is linked to that of Longueteau rums. When in 2005, François Longueteau took over the Marquisat de Sainte Marie agricultural estate and its "Esperance" distillery, Grégoire Hayot (who had been working at Damoiseau until then), joined forces with him to create an entity designed to enhance the distillery's rum through ageing. Karukera is the first name of Guadeloupe, given by the Caribbean Indians before the arrival of Christopher Columbus.
The Marquisat de Sainte Marie is an independent estate that grows blue and red cane. A rare fact in the field of rum in the West Indies, François Longueteau is the owner of his own agricultural machinery, which allows him to harvest his plots at the best time, when he considers that the cane is fully mature.
The fermentation of the vesou is artisanal (no acidification of the juice, no temperature control, as spontaneous as possible) and lasts 48 hours. The rum is distilled on a Savalle column of 28 trays from which it flows at 70-80%. This rum is delivered raw from the column to Karukera, where it is rested and brewed. This method of operation is similar to that of the Simon distillery in Martinique which supplies the HSE and Clément brands.
The ageing is mainly done in ex-cognac barrels with rum reduced between 52 and 62%.
The first aging took place in 2006, and a cellar worthy of the name was built in 2007. It includes an ageing area, a workshop for refining white rums, a bottling workshop and a shop shared with Longueteau rums.
While waiting for the first old agricultural rums, Karukera has proposed a white blue cane rum, but also blends of pure juice rums and molasses rums from the Montebello distillery. The very young brand has even refined old Martinique agricultural rums from La Favorite, vintages that it has reworked in Sauternes and Cognac barrels. Based on this experience of ageing, and just before releasing its first 'house' old rums in 2011, it produced the famous Cuvée Christophe Colomb from rums from Martinique.
Today, Karukera offers very high quality aged rums, such as this 2008 vintage, an aged agricultural rum that has been much talked about. But it also distinguishes itself with a demonstration of know-how in the field of white rums, thanks to the special editions " L'intense ". Read less
