Musica e Grogue, the rum from Cabo Verde

6 August 2023 | Interviews & Meetings
Musica e Grogue, the rum from Cabo Verde
Interview with Jean-Pierre Engelbach of Musica e Grogue
Jean-Pierre Engelbach hello and thank you for granting us an interview. You share your life between France and Cabo Verde. My first question concerns your meeting with Cabo Verde. When did it take place?

Strangely, my first encounter with Cabo Verde was in Paris, when, for the first time, I discovered Cesaria Evora, the barefoot singer, who was performing at the Grand Rex with her Cape Verdean musicians. In 2004, I believe. A lively colorful warm music, between Africa and Brazil, tinged with notes of hope, nostalgia and celebrations. I immediately wanted to get to know this country and its inhabitants who carry such vital and musical energy. The first trip took place about ten years later and I traveled through the islands one after the other, finally stopping on Santo Antão, the island of the grogue, the existence of which I was unaware at the time.

One day you wanted to make France discover the grogue. How did this desire to embark on such an adventure come about?

The meeting with grogue was a capital event for the young retiree that I was. As a rum lover, I discovered this national drink which punctuates the daily life of every Cape Verdean and, sometimes, of a few amateur tourists. It was in Tarrafal, a dream village on the island of Santo Antão, where we quickly wanted to come back and build ourselves a house. And, with my friend Simāo Evora, a key figure in the village, we wanted to contribute to the development of Tarrafal by buying large quantities of their grogue and, simultaneously, to make this magnificent drink known for the first time in France.

How could we define the Grogue? What is its place in the rum family?

Like all agricole rums, it is distilled from the juice of freshly cut sugarcane. But the specificity of the Grogue is due to several characteristics that constitute its true nature.

Sugarcane, first of all, grows on the mountainous slopes of the island in the middle of local fruit trees whose flavors are perceived on the nose and then on the palate (Cane, Maracuja, Mango, Tamarind, Banana, etc.) .

The fermentation of the cane juice, then, occurs over a long time, between 10 and 15 days, and with the natural yeasts of the cane; this time allows the flavors to slowly infuse into the cane wine.

As for the distillation itself, it is carried out in an essentially traditional way, in pot-stills which produce 20 liters of an alcohol between 45 and 50% vol, over an average duration of 2 hours. It is this white rum that we call Grogue Natural. On these bases, the Grogue is in the family of other pure juice rums such as Clairin from Haiti, Cachaca from Brazil, or agricole rums from the West Indies or Madeira.

Sugarcane fields
Sugarcane fields
Still from Cabo Verde
Still from Cabo Verde
How is grogue consumed in Cabo Verde?

It is the national drink of Cape Verdeans, the one that unites them and brings them together on a daily basis. The one that accompanies the important moments of life: family celebrations or meetings with friends, professionals, or the moments of relaxation linked to the working day... In each house, from the most modest to the most important, each home has its grogue carafe ready to welcome friends, family or visitors.

In your Musica e Grogue range, you can find white and aged grogues but above all two terroirs: Ribeira Da Cruz and Tarrafal de Monte Trigo. Can you introduce them to us?

Before starting to market, for the first time in France, grogues from Cabo Verde, we felt it necessary to do as much research as possible with several producers on the island of Santo Antão. With Simão, we initially selected the two terroirs of Tarrafal de Monte Trigo and Ribeira da Cruz. Both produce grogues made from a blend of two local canes: cana Riscada (of Guyanese origin) and cana preta (an endemic cane from Cabo Verde).

These two villages are located on the west of the island; they have a very dry climate, with low hydrometry (several years without rain), and the cultivation of cane is only possible there thanks to irrigation from local sources. And if, as a result, the quantity of juice extracted by each of these canes is relatively low, the quality of the flavors that are concentrated there is particularly astonishing.

Each of these two terroirs has several producers whose qualities may vary from one distillation to another, but who have similar taste characteristics. Like most grogues distilled in Cabo Verde, they are distilled in pot-still with an alcohol content between 43 and 50% vol.

At the risk of simplifying the differences of these two terroirs, I could say that Tarrafal presents very fruity dominants with touches of citrus, while Ribeira da Cruz offers a stricter tasting with light floral flavors, approaching certain agricole rums from Guadeloupe.

Ribeira Da Cruz
Ribeira Da Cruz
tarrafal musica & grogue rum
Tarrafal
Which white grogue should you start with to discover the Cabo Verde grogue?

I would be careful not to suggest an order of discovery of these two grogues, because the choices are essentially subjective. If my personal taste leads me to suggest the Grogue Natural da Cruz first, in order to make the most of the intensity of the flavors of the Natural de Tarrafal, other professionals will be able to suggest another order and make you discover other notes.

You have just released two aged rums, Grogue Velha 3 years old Ribeira Da Cruz and Grogue Velha 4 years old Tarrafal de Monte Trigo. Can you please tell us about the technical and taste characteristics of these grogues?

If the grogues are, at the beginning, white rums, their aging had very little place in Cabo Verde, because the tropical climate does not allow to have on site woods suited for aging. This is why, from the first year, we imported oak barrels that used to contain French varietal wines: Gaillac wines (Brocol grape varieties) or Rasteau wines (Côtes du Rhone). And we started aging Tarrafal and Ribeira da Cruz grogues there, some of which were finished in bourbon barrels.

In all cases, the aging carried out on site imposes a significant angel share (10% / year) and a slight increase in the alcoholic content (+ approximately 1% / year). With the release of these three Grogue Velha, the year 2023 sees the culmination of the aging work that began since the creation of the house in 2018 and which today offers a wide range of taste characteristics. To date, five references remain available. Three come from Tarrafal: the 2 years, the 3 years and the 4 years, for which each additional year brings a better balance between the surprising fruitiness of the start and the progressive woodiness coming from the barrels. As for the two Velha da Cruz, the 18 months and the 3 years, the strict sobriety of the original white makes the most of the woody contribution of the wine barrels and the finish with that of bourbon.

M&G Rhum du Cap-Vert
rum and guittard
rum & music

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

Discover all Musica e Grogue rums

Interview by

Matthieu Lange
Matthieu Lange
Spirits Advisor