Sampan

Sampan is a pure cane juice rum that comes to us from the Distillerie d'Indochine, located a few kilometers south of Hoi An city. It was born in 2019 under the impetus of three friends, Antoine Poircuitte, Julien Masset and Jan Visser. The first, Antoine, is the master distiller of Sampan. After a childhood spent with a grandfather who was a distiller, he studied business in wine and spirits. He started his career as a salesman in the wine world, in Vietnam and Hong Kong. Back in France, he became Asia-Pacific export manager for Marie-Brizard, before leaving for Asia. It is more precisely in Shanghai that he managed the Marie-Brizard subsidiary in Asia.

The idea of opening his own distillery had been on his mind for a while. It was done after a few years of research and development. He chose Vietnam, because beyond the love for the country, it is one of the cradles of the sugar cane. The varieties and the culture of the cane are ancestral and preserved.

The production of Sampan rum

In their approach to the production of agricultural style rum, Antoine and his partners have chosen to favor the freshness of the raw material and short circuits. This is why the yellow cane (endemic cane called "K-vàng") is harvested a few dozen kilometers from the distillery, in the Quang Nam region.

Cultivated without chemicals, this cane is cut by hand from February to August. The harvest is done in the evening, for a pressing the next morning. This ensures a maximum of 12 hours between the two operations.

The juice comes from a single press and is filtered before being fermented with rum yeast. This fermentation is carried out in thermoregulated tanks. This allows to extend it over 3 to 4 days, in order to obtain a cane wine at 11-12%, very aromatic. The distillation is done on a column still of 1000 liters of type armagnaçais. The rum is distilled to about 68-70%.

Sampan rums

The name Sampan refers to a typical South East Asian boat. The distillery offers white rums that are reduced very slowly (up to 7 months) in stainless steel tanks. The 43% Sampan is the most accessible and versatile. Then come the Sampan Overproof 54% and Sampan Full Proof 65%. The latter is the closest to the brut de colonne, it is very expressive.

The amber rums are aged for 8 to 12 months in ex-cognac barrels. They are bottled raw from barrels. A spiced has also joined the range, as well as aged rums. They too are aged in cognac barrels, in the distillery's cellar, by the sea. Read less