Distillation

In Grays' distillery house stands a column that, according to trade reports, has 52 plates. Each plate is a small perforated tray where vapor and liquid meet. With every plate, the alcohol in the rising vapor becomes a little stronger and purer, until a high-proof distillate emerges at the top.

A column works without pause. The fermented molasses flows in continuously, the spent mash drains off at the bottom, and the spirit comes out at the top. A pot still, by contrast, processes one batch at a time and yields heavier, more aromatic distillates. The column is the path to the light rum style known on Mauritius.

According to industry reports, Grays' distillate leaves the column at 65 to 80 percent alcohol. That's far below the 96 percent limit the EU sets for rum; only below that threshold does the taste of sugar cane and molasses remain in the spirit. The rum only reaches drinking strength after barrel aging, when water dilutes it down.

The same still can also produce neutral alcohol. Alongside its rums, Grays produces an extra-neutral alcohol. It's pushed above 96 percent and no longer has any rum character, so it doesn't fall under the rum definition. This shows how closely rum and industrial alcohol can sit side by side in sugar country, and how much depends on the distillation strength.

Under the New Grove name, the house bottles several rums, including older releases such as an XO. There's also a New Grove Spiced. Legally, that's a spirit, not a rum, because rum may not be flavored under EU law. The cane juice rum from the north comes from Domaine de Labourdonnais, which, according to trade media, has distilled juice since 2006.