Many commentators wonder about rum’s capacity to survive it’s hour in the sun.

A lot could be said about the market trends and the rumhouses strategies to confirm their strides toward global expansion. Those strategies are largely embedded in their branding, surfing on the one hand on the historical image of rum, rooted in piracy and adventure and one the other hand, on a sense of legitimacy inherent to notions of terroir and savoir-faire, giving rum and its makers an aura of expertise and class.

If this two prone approach has been successful in putting rhum on the map (and I totally suscribe to the idea of rum being a spirit worthy of appreciation by true connaisseurs) I would dare to suggest that rhum has something to offer which lies in the realm of the Caribbean experience.

As cliché as it may seem the Caribbean experience is a sensory one, made of smells and sounds and colour. Beyond the cliché, you will find hues that one has ever only heard of,  you will catch scents that you can’t quite identify but still feel, and sounds of nature that are so deeply rooted in who we are that you wouldn’t even realize there here until they’re gone.

By calling upon Titouan Lamazou, an explorer,  painter and lover of the Caribbean, for their 2015 white rum vintage, HSE from martinique encapsulates just that… The mesmerizing vibe of a Sunset on the southwest coast of any caribbean island.

And to be totally honest, I have fallen so strongly for the blends of purple and orange, that I actually made the basic color palette of my living. What can I say ? Rhum inspires !