Agricole or Traditional Rum?

The golden rule: the alcohol acts as a "solvent" that will extract and fix the essential oils from the vanilla and the fruits.

• Agricole White Rum (40° to 50°): Distilled directly from fresh sugar cane juice (vesou). It retains a very vegetal, almost herbaceous attack, and a lot of liveliness. It is the best choice to bring out the floral qualities of Tahiti vanilla or fresh fruits (Pineapple, Strawberry).
• Amber / Traditional Rum: Often distilled from molasses and aged a little in oak barrels. Its profile is rounder, softer, with caramel notes. It is the ideal choice for a pure Bourbon vanilla rum, or a winter rum with cinnamon, tonka and long pepper.

Releasing the "Caviar"

This is the number 1 mistake beginners make: putting the whole, closed bean into the bottle.

1. Take a sharp knife and make an incision along the entire length of your vanilla bean.
2. Spread the two halves: the black heart containing the thousands of aromatic seeds (vanillin) is now exposed.
3. You can leave the two halves attached at the top for aesthetic reasons in the bottle. The alcohol will now be able to seep inside the bean and release the flavors in just a few weeks, instead of several months if the bean had been left completely intact and closed.

Patience above all!

Sugar sweetens the rum, but it also hides the flavors if you put too much in at the start.

• Liquid cane sugar or brown sugar: Use a maximum of 2 to 4 tablespoons per liter when bottling.
• Let it steep for 2 months in the dark.
• Taste with a spoon. If the fruit has released a lot of natural sugar (like pineapple or banana), you may not need to add anything. Otherwise, adjust with more sugar syrup only 15 days before the final tasting!

Ingredients & Maceration

• 1 Liter of white agricole rum (40° or 50° depending on tolerance)
• 3 to 5 Bourbon vanilla beans from Madagascar from the box (split in half)
• 4 tbsp of cane sugar syrup

Maceration: Place everything in a beautiful bottle or glass jar. Close tightly. Let rest in a cupboard in total darkness for at least 3 months. Shake the bottle slightly once a week. A great classic that is soothing and cocoa-comforting.

Ingredients & Maceration

• 1 Liter of amber or aged rum
• 2 Bourbon vanilla beans + 2 Madagascar cinnamon sticks
• 1/2 Tonka bean (cut into pieces or slightly grated)
• 5 tbsp of brown cane sugar

Maceration: This is the rum for winter evenings by the fire. The tonka bean brings a captivating nose of bitter almond and caramel that enhances the aged rum. Leave to macerate for 2 months, taste, and remove the tonka bean if the aroma becomes too dominant over the vanilla.

The Perfect Balance

This is the great secret of professional bartenders: never use just one origin of vanilla!

• 1 Liter of white rum at 50°
• 2 Bourbon vanilla beans (for body, structure, cocoa note)
• 2 Tahitensis vanilla beans from Papua (for the attack on the palate, the anise and leather note)

Blending the two botanical species creates a rum of spectacular aromatic complexity that is impossible to duplicate with a single bean variety.

Ingredients & Maceration

• 1 Liter of white agricole rum
• 1 Victoria or Sugar Loaf pineapple (cut into large cubes, skin removed)
• Only 1 Tahiti Vanilla bean (extremely aromatic)
• 3 tbsp of sugar

Maceration: The floral and prune notes of Tahiti vanilla pair divinely with the sweet acidity of fresh pineapple. Leave to infuse for 3 to 4 months. When serving, you can filter the rum so that it is clear, or leave the fruit in for the aesthetics of the bottle.

Ingredients & Maceration

• 1 Liter of white rum
• The pulp of 5 fresh, beautiful passion fruits (maracuja)
• 3 split Papua New Guinea (Tahitensis) vanilla beans
• 6 tbsp of sugar syrup (passion fruit is very acidic)

Maceration: 2 to 3 months are enough for this rum. The vibrant acidity of the passion fruit awakens the sweet leather and spices of the Papuan vanilla. A must for summer aperitifs!

Ingredients & Maceration

• 1 Liter of amber rum
• 3 autumn pears (candied in the oven for 15 mins with a knob of butter)
• 2 Bourbon vanilla beans
• 1 whole "catkin" of Cambodian red long pepper (for the cinnamon/cocoa note, without the heat)

Maceration: Let the roasted pears cool before placing them in the jar with the rum, long pepper and vanilla. Leave to macerate for 3 months in the dark. It is a tasting rum, heavy, sweet and terribly gourmet.

Aesthetics or Practicality?

After 3 to 6 months of maceration in a wide-mouth jar (Le Parfait type jar):

• If you used fresh fruit (banana, pineapple): it is advisable to filter the liquid using a cheesecloth or a permanent coffee filter, then bottle the pure rum. The fruits eventually break down and cloud the liquid.
• The vanilla beans: You can (and should!) transfer them into your final bottle. The alcohol prevents them from rotting. They will continue to macerate endlessly and give a great look to your presentation bottle.

Recycling alcoholic beans

Your bottle of vanilla rum is finished and you have 4 old beans that have been macerating for 2 years left at the bottom? Do not throw them away!

1. Take them out of the bottle and let them air dry for 3 days on a paper towel.
2. Immerse them in a large jar of standard powdered sugar.
3. Close it. In a few weeks, you will have an incredible homemade Vanilla Sugar, with the bonus of a subtle aged rum note that will enhance your pancake batters and yogurt cakes.

The Bitter Trap (The Albedo)

If you want to add orange or lime peel to your vanilla arranged rum, be extremely careful.

The white skin under the citrus zest is called the albedo. If you leave the albedo in a jar of rum for 3 months, the alcohol will extract a terrible bitterness that will ruin your maceration, totally masking the scent of the vanilla.

Solution: Only extract the very thin zest with a peeler, without any trace of white. You can alternatively infuse whole slices of the fruit in the bottle for only 10 to 15 days, removing them before it turns bitter and leaving only the vanilla to mature.