Mauritius has made rum for as long as it has grown sugar, but the rum worth travelling for is newer than you might think. Three estates open their doors to visitors, one in each part of the island you are likely to be in anyway, and each fits into a day out you were already planning.
Cane juice or molasses
Most Mauritian rum is made the classic way, from molasses, the thick syrup left over once sugar has been crystallised. For decades it was the only option: distilling rum straight from fresh cane juice was only allowed from 2006. Since then a few estates have made rum from pressed juice, fermented while it is fresh, which gives a grassier, more vegetal spirit, close to the rhum agricole of the French Caribbean. Chamarel and Labourdonnais both work from fresh cane juice, which is why a tasting there is not the same as a bottle from the airport.
Rhumerie de Chamarel, south-west
The best known of the three sits in the hills above Chamarel, a few minutes from the Seven Coloured Earths, surrounded by its own cane. The guided visit takes you through crushing, fermentation and the stills in about half an hour, then on to a tasting of white, aged and flavoured rums and liqueurs, so allow an hour in all. Expect to pay around 600 to 650 rupees for the visit and tasting. It is open Monday to Saturday, 9:30 to 16:30, and closed on Sundays.
The estate restaurant, L'Alchimiste, makes it a natural lunch stop on a Chamarel day. See our guide to the Seven Coloured Earths.
Château de Labourdonnais, north
A short drive inland from Grand Baie at Mapou, Labourdonnais is a restored colonial house with orchards and gardens, and the estate makes its own rum. It publishes the clearest prices of the three, in rupees and including VAT:
- Tasting only, about 45 minutes: 350 rupees, for 5 rums plus fruit juices and fruit jellies.
- Classic tour, about an hour and a half: 750 rupees.
- Full guided tour, about two hours: 950 rupees.
- Gardens only: 150 rupees.
It is open from 9:00 to 17:00, with last entry at 15:45, and guided tours start at 10:00 and 14:00 from Monday to Saturday. It is closed on 25 December and on 1 and 2 January.
Saint Aubin, south
Saint Aubin, at Rivière des Anguilles near Souillac, is the old one: the estate dates from 1819. Alongside the rum house there is a vanilla house, an anthurium greenhouse and a garden, and the colonial house serves lunch. Check the visit price and times with the estate before you go.
It sits right on the route of a south-coast day, so pair it with the cliffs at Gris Gris and the coast road west: see Gris Gris and the wild south coast road.
Short on time: L'Aventure du Sucre
Not a working distillery but a museum in an old sugar factory at Beau Plan, next to the Pamplemousses garden. It tells the story of sugar on the island, and the visit ends with a tasting of its sugars and, for adults, rum. It is open Monday to Saturday, public holidays included, from 10:00 to 16:00. It pairs with the garden: see Pamplemousses botanical garden in two hours.
Before you go
- Tastings are generous. Book a driver for the day rather than driving yourself: a full day typically runs 2,500 to 4,000 rupees, shared between the group. See getting around without a car.
- Go on a weekday. Chamarel is closed on Sundays, and guided tours at Labourdonnais do not run on public holidays.
- Bottles you buy go in your hold luggage, not your cabin bag.
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