Rhum J.M Jardin Fruité is an aged rhum agricole in J.M’s L’Atelier des Rhums line. In the distillery’s own words, the L’Atelier line explores “the possibilities of blending different sugarcane distillates, charring techniques, types of wood, and barrel capacities”. This includes the smokey Fumée Volcanique (no relation to Terroir Volcanique, why do you ask?), the spicy Épices Créoles, and of course the fruity and herby Jardin Fruité.

We measured a density of 0.943g/cc and a refractive index of 1.3558, indicating no additives, in line with the requirements for the Martinique Rhum Agricole AOC.

On the nose you can easily see Rhum J.M achieved what they were going for: lemon and apple are dominant, with additional notes of honey, vanilla, and a faint rosemary-/thyme herbaceousness. On the palate you get the first obvious expression of oak, more apple, and then a host of astringent notes like paper, tea, and bitter grassiness. The finish is moderate light (at 42% ABV this is the lowest proof of the trio) and gives more woody herbs.

In our blind taste test we thought it was okay as a neat sipper (6.9/10), and pretty good mixed into a daiquiri (7.9/10). Overall this made it the least successful of the three L’Ateliers, and in a way that makes sense. J.M has said this line places specific emphasis on barrel manipulation techniques, and while smoke and spice classically associated with barrel character, fruit and herb are generally thought of as coming from the base distillate, particularly in cane juice based agricoles. Really, the Jardin Fruité is the most “agricole” of the three, and if you’re looking for a big red “cane juice” button to press in a cocktail, it gets the job done, but many rums from J.M’s core lineup do as well.

The Superficial: The label designs for all the L’atelier des Rhums bottles are very cool; simultaneously modern and classic. The glass is a bit of a let down, and the plastic screw cap is probably less appealing than a metal one (much less a cork). Rhum J.M knows how to make delightful bottles, but perhaps with the emphasis on mixology, these expressions didn’t get a premium treatment.

Trois Riviéres Cuvée du Moulin is a 3 year old column still cane juice rum from the La Mauny distillery on Martinique bottled at 40% ABV. In my home market in Seattle it’s one of the few french agricoles I regularly see on local shelves that’s not Clement or Rhum J.M, and with an aggregate score of 6.4/10 on RumX, I came into this review wondering if that shelf space could’ve been put to better use.

We measured a density of 0.946g/cc and a refractive index of 1.3538, indicating no additives, in line with the requirements for the Martinique Rhum Agricole AOC.

While is an agricole, and has all of the grassy, appley, vegetal notes you would expect, it’s fairly mild on the nose. Green apple, oak, a little flower shop, and some raisin are evident up front. On a second nosing you might get some mango and a little copper. The palate leans into the oak, with spicey pepperiness playing counterpoint to apple and prune. There’s some vegetal grassiness, as well as a hint of mint. The finish is pretty moderate, leaving relatively little oak and indexing mostly on the apple, raisin and mint from the palate.

In our blind taste test we thought it was pretty good both as a neat sipper (7.0/10) and mixed into a daiquiri (7.9/10). While not a show stopper, the Cuvée de Moulin provides a pretty approachable entryway into cane juice rum; there’s enough oak and spice to appeal to lovers of other aged spirits, and enough fresh apple to give you a sense of what to expect from French Agricoles. Maybe the shelves in my local liquor store could do better, but they could sure do a lot worse.

The Superficial: A quality feeling bottle with nice glass details. The matte embossed labels isn’t winning design awards, but looks reasonably nice and feels good. The metal wrap around the top feels substantial and is fun to pull off, and while the natural cork is nice, I wish there was a wooden stopper.