A1710 is a new small-scale rhum distillery in Martinique. It’s situated at the Habitation du Simon in St François, two-thirds of the way down the eastern side of the island. The distillery is one of the few agricole producers to use a copper pot still and because of this, falls outside of the AOC classification for Martinique rhum. A1710 was created by Yves Assier de Pompignan and the rhum is produced under the watchful eye of master blender and director of production, Stéphanie Martin.

You can read about the habitation, the brand and the rhum here. For us it was quite different from the other distilleries we visited in Martinique. As A1710 themselves say, it’s a mix of traditional and modern techniques that make a real small-scale and artisanal rhum.

During our visit we got to try la Perle (white at 54.4%) and the three hors d’ages: Soleil de Minuit (8-11 years), Tricentenaire (6-17 years) and Nuée Ardente (9-17 years). The latter three use rhums from other Antillais distilleries (molasses and cane juice) and ages them for a further period on-site in ex-cognac barrels (fûts) before being matured fora further six months in ex-cognac casks (foudres).

Since our visit, A1710 has released two organic, single cane variety white rhums that we are keen to try out.