Depaz is the rhum planted on the slopes that killed its founder’s family. When Mont Pelée erupted in May 1902 and wiped out Saint-Pierre, Victor Depaz was away at school in Bordeaux; his parents and siblings died with 28,000 others. He came back, planted cane on the volcano, and rebuilt the distillery at its foot in 1917 — on an estate that had been the first plantation in Martinique, founded in 1651 by the island’s first governor — and it’s been running ever since. Blanc is fresh cane juice from those volcanic fields, distilled on a copper Creole column, and bottled at 45% ABV with nothing added under the AOC Martinique, in the house’s rounded, stubby bottle. The Lone Caner found the 45% not very strong yet delivering a depth of flavor hard to fault, carrying into a long, spicy finish that’s sweet, green, tart, and very clean, with a whole bunch of fruit left behind — a nice neat pour or, of course, a Ti’ Punch — and calls Depaz’s blanc, vieux, and XO really quite good starters for the budget-minded cognoscenti. Expect fresh cane, green apple, citrus, and white flowers on the nose, opening into a bright, grassy, gently sweet palate with pepper and a mineral edge from the volcanic soil, finishing clean and moderately long. RumX calls Depaz among the most decorated agricoles on Martinique. For a Ti’ Punch, a Daiquiri, or neat, it’s the volcano’s white. Since 1651, rebuilt 1917.
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