Rhum J.M was founded in 1845 and is located in Le Macouba at the base of Mount Pelee, an active volcano on the northernmost tip of Martinique. The distillery's name comes from the initials of the founder of the distillery, Jean-Marie Martin. It is based at the site of Martinique’s oldest rum distillery, dating back to 1790.
The volcanic soil creates a unique climate, and Rhum J.M grows all of its own sugar cane on the Habitation Bellevue estate, which is right above the distillery. The sugar cane yield at Bellevue is much higher than at lower elevations, although the sugar content is lower, so more of it has to be crushed to make the rhum - swings and roundabouts. This unique microclimate and volcanic soil creates an exclusive sugar cane crop.
Unlike pretty much every other rum-producing region, Rhum J.M don’t burn their sugar cane fields after harvest because it is against the AOC (Appellation d’Origine Controlle) rules, so Rhum J.M rotate their fields between sugar cane and banana.