Clement Premier Canne

[Hank Koestner]

Clement Premier Canne here in the states is a version bottled more for the American palate. It comes in at 80 proof instead of 100, and has a much milder flavor than some of the white agricoles you might have been drinking.
It has decent flavor, and you can taste the floral notes that white agricole is famous for, but in a much toned down version. I found that it made a decent Mojito, and a very good Daquiri, but I did not care for it in a classic Ti Punch.

[Tiare]

Whenever I get a chance to find this rum I will try it, it seems to have a good taste but maybe lack some of the grassy sharpness. (If that`s what you like.. I do) Maybe it would make a good ti punch when blended with some stronger white agricole? or what about some aged to get a yet different dimension? I aslo wonder if its possible to find the 100 proof in Europe.

[Edward Hamilton]

Whenever I get a chance to find this rum I will try it, it seems to have a good taste but maybe lack some of the grassy sharpness. (If that`s what you like.. I do) Maybe it would make a good ti punch when blended with some stronger white agricole? or what about some aged to get a yet different dimension? I also wonder if it's possible to find the 100 proof in Europe.

The 100 proof Clйment is sold in Europe, I doubt Europeans would drink a white rhum agricole at 80 proof, they don't in Martinique. When I first met the US importer of Clйment rhums we talked about the fact that Clйment was being bottled at 80 proof for the US market. Like a lot of other people, they didn't think Americans would drink a white rhum bottled at 100 proof. There was nothing like that on the market in 2004 when the first cases of Clйment rhum agricole arrived in the US.

In Martinique about 75% of the rhum sold is white rhum. I'm told that about 75% of Martinique rhum sold in France is rhum vieux (dark, aged rhum). In the US, more than 55% of the Neisson and La Favorite rhum sold is white rhum agricole bottled at 100 proof, the same as it is bottled in Martinique. And I suspect that Clйment sales are similar. They are now importing J.M white rhums at 100 proof.

[Hank Koestner]

It might be fun to experiment with the blending. I love my white agricoles so much that it might be hard for me to do it...........
I love the grassy sharpness, floral nose and flavors of white agricole. The Clement 80 is toned way down.

JM white in the US? Probably in Cal where I cant get it.

[Edward Hamilton]

J.M has distribution in Florida though it is small but I know it can be ordered from the distributor in Miami.

[Tiare]

Want to put my hands on the JM...luckily I have found the shop Rumlife in italy which do have a nice selection of rums and rum agricoles.

[RobertBurr]

We have JM Rhums here in South Florida, including the white at 100 proof, the gold at 100 proof, the VSOP 4-5 year old at 90 proof and the vintage 1997 at 96 proof.

[Hank Koestner]

Do you know of a store that sells on line?

[Edward Hamilton]

Here's a link to some of the online stores (http://ministryofrum.com/onlinefound.php) in this database. There are more but I'm confident you'll find what you're looking for here.

[Scottes]

For those of you searching for rum - and wine and other spirits - I can recommend a website called Wine Searcher. http://www.wine-searcher.com

This site lists Internet liquor web sites which list their products and prices. You can then search for something all around the world. (And you search specifically by country and/or state.) Sites are noted if they are a "Full e-commerce web site" and if they have "World-wide delivery" so you can find places that will ship. Of course it will list stores themselves.

Searching for like Clement Premiere Canne for Hank shows that The Wine Specialists (http://www.winespecialist.com/index.asp) in DC has the Premiere Canne for $16, and that they ship world-wide. They also list Hi-Time which sells it for $26, the next higher price available for shipping. They also list 6 or 7 other sites at higher prices, up to $36.

The free version of Wine-Searcher only lists certain stores, maybe 1/3 or 1/4 of the ones that it has in it's database. But for $30 a year you get much better searching and results.

The site isn't perfect, mainly because the stores themselves aren't perfect in listing current stock - in fact most don't list the number of bottles in stock, just that they carry it. So for a rare spirit it pays to call ahead.
I have found the listings to be pretty darn accurate, at least 90% across the 4 states I've searched and the 15 stores I've visited due to their listings. When going on a shopping expedition I generally make a list of 3 or 4 stores in an area and make sure at least 2 of them have what I want. Just to be safe.


In my opinion paying $30 a year is well worth the price for those of us who search out fine spirits and rums. For me, it paid for itself in saved gasoline and time within a couple of shopping expeditions.

[Tiare]

Scottes, thats a good link, but when I went to the wine specialists site and checked the shipping info page they have written:

Shipping Information

Note: We cannot ship internationally, nor to PO, APO or FPO Boxes.

So its good to check those things in detail..

I just wonder if there is any online store in USA that ships to Europe?

[Edward Hamilton]

Searching for like Clement Premiere Canne for Hank shows that The Wine Specialists (http://www.winespecialist.com/index.asp) in DC has the Premiere Canne for $16, and that they ship world-wide.

I doubt anyone will sell that rum for $16. $26 for a 750ml bottle at 80 proof is lower than anything I've seen around the country.

[Hank Koestner]

I am actually looking for the JM Rhum line. Have not had a chance to do much looking yet.

[Scottes]

I doubt anyone will sell that rum for $16. $26 for a 750ml bottle at 80 proof is lower than anything I've seen around the country.
Doubt what you want, but that's what they quote on their website.
http://www.winespecialist.com/ecart/searchsimple.asp?sc=&s=canne&GO.x=0&GO.y=0

[Rumpelteazer]

I received a bottle of the Clement Premiere Canne for Christmas, and tasted it with a group of friends, who were mostly scotch, tequila, and beer drinkers but no other serious rum fans.

Tasted neat, we found an initial lemon citrus flavor which dissipated leaving a bit of a floral note. Neither flavor lasted very long, and there was only a slight alcohol bite.

This would appear consistent with what others have said about the US version being toned down from the international version. But even my non-rum drinkers commented they were expecting more flavor.

With a few drops of water added, the citrus flavor bloomed a bit, but the floral notes decreased, and the bite disappeared completely.

A splash of lime juice enhanced the citrus flavors, as you would expect. The rum mixed nicely with ginger ale, but hid behind coke. I did not have any Daiquiri mix, but suspect that would be very good.

Head to head with 10 Cane (the only other white/light rum I had on hand) the 10 Cane showed a bit more flavor and complexity.

Now I can't wait to try the 100 version.