81: Catching Up with Ben Jones: Rhum J.M, Rhum Clément, St. Lucia Distillers, and All Things Spiribam
In this episode, we caught up with Ben Jones (director of North America for Spiribam) to catch up on all things related to Spiribam's portfolio of rum brands/distilleries, like Rhum J.M, Rhum Clément, St. Lucia Distillers, and their latest acquisition — Saint-Maurice Distillery in French Guiana, makers of La Belle Cabresse and other brands. We chatted with Ben about: New and upcoming releases from J.M and Clément (including several off-the-wall cask finishes) How involved he/Spiribam are with product development and feedback at each distillery The cool story behind the making of Chairman's Reserve Legacy, which we've often lauded as a great value rum What the future of sugarcane cultivation (and cane juice rum production) looks like at St. Lucia Distillers Why Rhum J.M VO is being replaced by Terroir Volcanique An update on high ester production at St. Lucia Distillers The growing market for cane juice spirits from around the world and how that impacts the rhum agricole category What to expect from Spiribam's acquisition of Saint-Maurice in French Guiana The future of Spiribam's Mauritian rum brand, Arcane And more! P.S. Did you know you can support The Rumcast on Patreon now and get bonus episodes, happy hours, and more? You can! Head to patreon.com/therumcast to check it out.