Flowers of the Wind is one of four expressions in the Baie des Trésors lineup, which, while based on cane juice from Le Galion sugar mill, is actually distilled at the Saint James distillery in Saint Marie. This is a bit convoluted because Le Galion is a distillery itself, though according to Modern Caribbean rum, they exclusively distill “rhum industriel” out of molasses. Baie Des Tresors calls out that the distillation process is done to their specifications, if not at their own facility:

“The Exploitation Agricole du Galion and Saint-James rums are linked by a long shared history which has led them to establish a unique and privileged relationship. Thanks to this mutual trust, Baie des Trésors is honoured to be able to distil its rums based on its own specifications by taking control of the Sainte-Marie factory for the duration of the distillation process. Everything is done to ensure that the uniqueness of Baie des Trésors is preserved.”

But it’s fair to wonder if this is just Saint James juice and a branding exercise. Based on what’s in the bottle, it certainly isn’t.

For Baie des Trésors, part of that uniqueness is the actual plot of land upon which the cane was grown. “Flowers of the Wind” is an reference to the fact this rhum’s cane was grown on comparatively arid parcels. My basic understanding is that the drier conditions mean both that the cane stops growing as much (less water, less motivation to expand), and that through transpiration (plant sweat) it ends up with lower internal moisture at harvest. Both of these mean the harvest cane has a higher concentration of sugar, and while that alone doesn’t mean much for the fermentation, when the cane juice will be diluted to spec anyway, I suppose it may lead to slightly cleaner, lighter wash, all other things being held equal (but we’re deep down the speculative rabbit hole now, and I would expect other factors dominate). At any rate, it’s both neat that they give us this information and fun to muse about.

We measured a density of 0.93/cc and a refractive index of 1.3586, indicating no additives, and in line with the requirements for the Martinique Rhum Agricole AOC.

On the nose you get the classic fresh, grassy, apple-y agricole notes, but there’s also some butterscotch. On the palate it’s spicy and peppery, with a lot of fresh oak and a mild sweetness. You can also pick up a touch of minerality if you go looking for it. The finish is moderately strong, and fitting given its 49.8% ABV.

In our blind taste test we thought it was good as a neat sipper (7.3/10) and great as a mixer (8.2/10). The juice is solid, but beyond that I’m pretty delighted by the overall package—getting information about the cane growing conditions is very cool, and the bottle (as previously mentioned) is really fantastic. If you can get your hands on it, Flowers of the Wind would be a great gift for the rum nerd in your life (even if that rum nerd is you).

The Superficial: Again, very cool bottle. Has an awesome heft to it, suitable labeling, fantastic glass detailing, and a synthetic cork and wooden stopper that’s a joy to plop off.