“What is this place?” You walk through the sliding doors, turn right towards the rum section, and suddenly your jaw drops. They’re all there, sparkling and bright, walls upon walls of high-quality sugar cane mosaic.
We’ve traveled all over the Caribbean and there’s nothing quite like it. If you’re a rum connoisseur, this is as good as it gets. This is Bacchus, the French wine and spirits shop of the Caribbean, and here in its stunning retail store in the Saint Martin’s Hope Estate neighborhood is the rum equivalent of Shangri-La.
There are hundreds and hundreds of bottles, with an emphasis on the magnificent Rum agricole from Martinique and Guadeloupe, Rhum Blanc and aged Rhum and everything in between.
If you don’t know it, Rhum Agricole is the rarest rum in the Caribbean: unlike most industrially produced rums, it is made from pure sugar cane juice and not molasses, which means it has a real terroir and a distinctly artisanal rum-making culture. Every year the harvest is different and every year, as in the world of wine, the product is different.
And Bacchus has it all: Depaz, Reimonenq, Bally, Damoiseau, Clement, JM, the names are endless. And these are not just the new releases, like JM’s spectacular new Cuvee Canopée or Clement’s latest Blue Cane edition.
There are also rarities here: Damoieau’s top new releases, Clements 1970 and 1976, La Favorites Flibuste, currently probably the most sought-after bottle of rum in the world, and a wonderful selection of Rhum Blanc.
The latter is for the lover of Ti’ Punch and it is a fascinating journey into the diverse world of terroir.
And it’s all here: from the Dillon Ti’ Fle’ Ble’ to Reimonenq’s beautiful Coeur de Chauffeur to the colorful JM Macouba.
And it’s not just limited to agricultural products: you’ll find an excellent selection from across the Antilles and even from rum markets like Guatemala.
Of course, it is not just rum. There is a wide selection of everything for the bon vivant, from a spacious wine cellar to a Nespresso bar and a fully-fledged Haute cuisine Restaurant on site. And Bacchus is not just here, the company has three locations in Saint Martin, another in St. Barth and a new location in Anguilla as well.
If you love rum, this is paradise on one of the most accessible islands in the Caribbean. And if you know anything about the world of rum, you know how rare it is to find a shop with a pan-Caribbean offering on a Caribbean island.
At the moment it is the Mecca of Caribbean rum shops. (If there was rum in Mecca).
Do you love rum? Then come to St. Barth this November to attend the seventh annual Caribbean Rum Awards, the region’s ultimate rum festival. Find out more here.
