Héritiers Madkaud Rum, rum in conscience

5 August 2023 | Interviews & Meetings
Héritiers Madkaud Rum, rum in conscience

Interview with Stéphane Madkaud, Rum from Les Héritiers Madkaud

Hello Stéphane, thank you for granting us this interview. You have relaunched a brand that once belonged to your ancestors, and you present your story as "another story of rum". What is the specificity of this story today?

Hello Matthieu. Thank you also for this interview. There are two levels of reading our slogan "another story of rum".

The first level concerns the brand itself. Madkaud rum is the only spirit in the world to have had the child of two slaves as its founder and to be owned even today by one of his direct descendants. Félicien Madkaud, my grandfather, was indeed the son of Louis and Monique, slaves of African origin. Born in Martinique shortly after the abolition of slavery, he was part of the first generation of "free blacks". Distiller and landowner since 1895, his heritage has been passed down to me, through five family generations. It is a story without parallel in the world of rum.

genealogy

The second level of reading the slogan is sociological and concerns in the broad sense the place of the descendants of slaves in the history of rum. Indeed, just as in the USA the authentic history of "Uncle Nearest" whisky reveals to us the major creative role played by the slave Nathan "Nearest" Green in the invention of "Jack Daniel's" whisky, the point here is to offer an alternative to the dominant narrative according to which the deported Africans and their descendants only played the role of labor force. There are indeed other examples of Martinicans from the first generation of free blacks who also owned agricole distilleries. Often quite ephemeral, of course, but very real. Their rum was generally marketed in bulk, locally or for export, without any brand being affixed to it. Thus, although relatively numerous at the beginning of the 20th century, and in particular during the First World War, these small distillers left behind them no lasting trace of their activity.

However, the facts are there: sons of slaves had the audacity and the ability to take an active part in the adventure of agricole rum from the very beginning!

These particular elements having largely fallen into oblivion, “Héritiers Madkaud” is the only brand in the world to authentically bring this dimension of diversity and inclusion to the history of rum.

What does Madkaud rum represent in terms of image, in your opinion, for Martinicans today? You are the only one to our knowledge to translate your site into Creole, for example.

My personal feeling is that today, after more than a decade of communication efforts, the people of Martinique have largely integrated the story. The historical void is now largely filled and a relationship of sympathy, even affection, has been established with the public.

The brand indeed conveys a history of proximity, rooted in the local culture, with, among other things, the use of the Creole language on our website. Perceived as a historical witness of the era that saw it come to life, I believe that Madkaud rum is a resistance fighter, a survivor, the ultimate representative of an era and a generation.

Madkaud rum is now distilled in Sainte-Marie, at Saint-James. How is the distribution of work carried out with Saint-James? In what form do you intervene during the production stages?

The successive closures of our family distilleries in 1963 and 1976 indeed led my elders to get closer to the Saint-James distillery from the year 1977. This production partnership was transmitted to me in the mid-2000s by Lucien Madkaud, representative of the fourth family generation, who then gradually withdrew from the business.

Today, “Héritiers Madkaud” is an independent brand which I own and which sources selected cuvées from the Saint-James distiller. I do not intervene at any level of the production process but only at the end of the chain, for the selection of the juices in consultation with Marc Sassier who is the Production Manager of the distillery.

.

still on site of sainte marie in Martinique
Production site of Sainte-Marie, Martinique

You now offer two white rums, the Cuvées Renaissance and Castelmore. What are the technical and taste characteristics of these two cuvées?

These are vintages of agricole rum distilled according to the rules of the AOC in a Creole column from the North Atlantic terroir of Martinique. The types of cane used are mainly the B5992 (Barbados) and the R570 (Reunion).

The Renaissance cuvée is a pure agricole juice reduced to 50 degrees. It is a real raw gem combining roundness and aromas of fresh cane. It is historically the first cuvée selected towards the end of the 2000s, the one with which the renaissance of Madkaud rum began.

The Castelmore cuvée is a blend, also at 50 degrees resulting from a selection of the sunniest plots of the plantation. This contribution from dry terroir brings greater complexity and aromatic variety, a real floral bouquet always in the same spirit of roundness and vegetal freshness.

Alongside this, you offer three aged rums, an aged Renaissance rum, a Castelmore VSOP rum and a Fondamentale Cuvée XO. Can you present these cuvées to us please?

Our old rums are also AOC agricole all from the juices of the distillery. Aging is done on site in small French oak barrels. The Renaissance cuvée is a VO aged 3 to 4 years while the Castelmore is a VSOP of 4 to 5 years. These two cuvées were designed as very light with a reduction of 40 degrees.

The Renaissance VO is a predominantly woody rum, slight vanilla, with notes of chocolate and candied citrus fruits.

The Castelmore VSOP is a sweet, balanced, woody rum, with notes of nuts and mocha. The “Fondamentale XO” cuvée is a generic name under which we are going to launch small batches of around 1,500 bottles aged for a minimum of 6 years and selected every 2 years.

Launched in 2022, the first batch is an 8-year-old grading 43 degrees. It is a round, balanced, ample, woody rum with notes of roasted coffee, spices and dried fruits.

What cuvées are you working on for the months and years to come?

For the weeks and months to come, the selection of the new batch of the Fundamental XO is on the agenda, the first batch being sold out on the market. In the longer term, I really want to replant our Carbet property with sugarcane in order to distill small original cuvées from our own terroir.

madkaud rums

In order to continue reading, we suggest you...

Discover all Héritiers Madkaud rums

Interview by

Matthieu Lange
Matthieu Lange
Spirits Advisor