La Favorite

The story of La Favorite

The origins of La Favorite date back to the 18th century in France .

The story of La Favorite

The origins of La Favorite date back to the 18th century in Martiniquewith the sugar farm "La Jambette"... Read more

The story of La Favorite

The origins of La Favorite date back to the 18th century in Martiniquewith the sugar farm "La Jambette". It wasn't until the following century, in 1842, that this farm was equipped with a distillery. The distillery produced molasses rum, as was common at the time.

It was Charles Henri who christened the estate La Favorite after buying it in 1851. Unfortunately, he went bankrupt in 1875, before a hurricane ravaged the facilities in 1891.

The story of La Favorite almost came to an end. But in 1909,Henri Dormoy bought the estate at auction and decided to relaunch it. In 1914, he put an end to sugar production, and devoted himself to what is now known as rhum agricole. He equipped the distillery with a steam engine (still in use today). He also added a distillation column, and developed a railroad to transport the cane.

Profitability failed to materialize, however, and in 1924 the distillery closed, while the sugar refinery made a comeback. Henri Dormoy died in 1938, and it was André who took over his father's business. He began renovation work, and managed to reopen the distillery in 1957.

The La Favorite brand was maintained in the meantime, as the estate's cane was distilled at Lareinty, with its original equipment transferred there.

The distillery reopened with great success, producing 800,000L of rum a year by 1960. In 1969, it acquired the Survi brand, followed by Courville in 1975. It acquired the Saint-Étienne distillery in 1985, before selling it in 1993.

La Favorite rum

The La Favorite distillery has 60 hectares of sugar cane, which covers around 80% of its needs. For the remaining 20%, it works with small growers in the surrounding area, with whom it maintains close relations.

When the cane arrives at the distillery, it is crushed by a steam engine built in 1906! It runs on bagasse, making La Favorite energy self-sufficient.

The vesou(pure cane juice) is fermented in 30,000L vats. Baker's yeast is added, for a fermentation that lasts between 48 and 72 hours, which is really at the high end of the world of rhum agricole.

Distillation takes place on two different columns:

- The all-copper column installed in 1957 produces a long-fermented rum, Coeur de Canne.

- The half stainless steel - half copper column, which dates back to 1986, is designed forAuthentique, the brand's flagship rum.

500,000L of 70-72% AOC Martinique rum come out of these columns every year. Most of the production is sold as white rum, with a few special editions such as Bel'air and La Digue. 15-20% of rum is aged in bourbon and cognac casks. The result is classic old rums like Coeur de rhum, a few vintages, and prestigious cuvées like La Flibuste or the various Privilège cuvées. Read less

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