Gault&Millau's 10 favorite arranged rums

Laetitia Gautheron | 2/10/25, 5:01 PM

Gault&Millau unveils its 10 favorite rhums arrangés: bold recipes, authentic flavors and artisan craftsmanship. An ideal selection for lovers of refined spirits.

If we refer to the new European regulations of 2021, the official term is "rum punch", with precise specifications: a minimum alcohol content of 15%, which must come exclusively from rum, a minimum sugar content of 100 g/l and exclusively natural flavoring substances. If these conditions are not met, the term "rum-based spirit drink" is used.

In common parlance, the name "rhum arrangé" - originally created on Reunion Island - is frequently used to describe a rum-based beverage.denotes a rum-based beverage - agricultural or traditional, white or barrel-aged - made by macerating fruit, plants and/or spices. There are as many styles of rhum arrangés as there are producers. A number of French companies have embarked on this adventure to meet the ever-growing demand.

Jamrock at Arhumatic

On the nose, a powerful rum with aromas of candied orange peel, flambéed banana, coffee and black pepper. On the palate, the juiciness of the orange and the warm coffee make for a mouth-watering experience. The rum remains present and shows a very fine quality with notes of tropical fruit and brown sugar, on a pretty finish that never ends.

Price: €49
Gault&Millau rating: 96/100

Rhum Arrangé (4) 1

n°8 Vanille bio de la Réunion from Halto

The color is slightly cloudy with vanilla beans. And the vanilla is clearly present on the nose, revealing a fresh, natural sensation. On the palate, the rum adds a warm, fruity note, while the vanilla gives a pastry-like impression. Ideal in a baba or with a tropézienne. What a treat!

Price: €39
Gault&Millau score: 95/100

Arrangé Volcanique by Isautier

This rhum arrangé opens with gourmet aromas of pineapple, lime, passion fruit and cinnamon. On the palate, it retains its fruity notes and a hint of sweetness, which is kept in check by a touch of red pepper that warms the palate and even the heart for a long time.

Price: €37
Gault&Millau rating: 94/100

Zapa at Malorhum

The nose reveals a complex bouquet of thyme, ginger, honey, lemongrass and roasted bell pepper, like a spicy cooked dish. On the palate, the register is very gourmand. The salty notes are there, but the texture is enveloping. The balance is there... and it makes you hungry. try it with lemongrass chicken curry or 7-hour lamb.

Price: €39.50
Gault&Millau score: 94/100

La Vieille Dame chez Maël

A nose that smells of Christmas, with orange, cinnamon, clove and brown sugar, as well as fig and raisin. On the palate, the rum is spicy with a touch of roast. Long, fresh and delicious... everything we love!

Price: €70
Gault&Millau score: 93/100

Vanille Noix de Macadamia chez Ti de Ced'

This rhum arrangé announces a lovely pastry nose of pain au chocolat, vanilla and nuts. On the palate, everything is in place and structured. Macadamia nut and vanilla aromas are present, offering a soft, pleasantly warm sensation. A beautiful wine.

Price: €37
Gault&Millau rating: 93/100

Fire chez Antik

A pleasant nose of cinnamon and strawberry jam with black pepper. A slight touch of spice. On the palate, the attack starts out sweet, but the spice quickly takes over the whole palate and wakes you up. The alcohol is not overly present and adds structure. Notes of hibiscus and red fruit remain, but the chili pepper experience on the palate was just the beginning of the journey. It won't let you go anytime soon. Better be warned...

Price: €49
Gault&Millau rating: 92/100

Mango & Passion at Nektar

Gourmet nose of ripe mango, passion fruit and lime. On the palate, it's exotic, aromatic and sweet, while retaining its freshness. A particularly fragrant rum with a little bitterness on the finish that adds complexity.

Price: €32
Gault&Millau rating: 91/100

Kouign Amann at Alchimie

On the nose, buttery and pastry notes are present, revealing puff pastry, vanilla, caramel and raisin. On the palate, you bite into the kouign-amann, with the warming side of rum and the lovely pep of spice. The balance is there, with good aromatic length.

Price: €35
Gault&Millau score: 88/100

GPH at Pongo

Ginger dominates at first, followed by hints of pepper and a smoky chipotle-like quality. On the palate, the attack is sweet with honey, then the chili pepper returns mid-palate to spice things up, with candied ginger in the background. An energetic rum that remains sweet thanks to the honey, but with that spicy sensation that makes you want to come back for more.

Price: €25
Gault&Millau rating: 88/100

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In the depths of winter, at dusk, only the lights of shop windows seem able to warm up the Rue Ramponeau, in the 20th arrondissement of Paris. One of them frames a neat row of bottles, a constant feature of the eastern Paris substrate. Slender glass bottles stand out by their labels alone, in a flash of bold colors. In fact, an imperceptible difference at a glance separates them: some contain no alcohol. Benoît d'Onofrio, known as sobrelier, opened his Sobrellerie in October 2024, declining the neologism. A place to eat and drink, notably around his fermented beverage confections, which he had previously reserved for the menus of culinary residences. Moving into the small room towards the stainless steel kitchen, a series of jars stand side by side like penguins on an ice floe. A scotch announces: Squash - persimmon - chicory - rice - sweet clover. "Funny, one started fermenting faster than its neighbor, even though it's the exact same batch," observes Benoît, his childlike eyes level with the surface. Benoît starts his fermentations without mother (unlike kombucha), grains (unlike kefir) or added sugar. Only the micro-organisms present on organic fruit and vegetables are put into action, according to the variations of the season or the conditions of the day. Immediately, the smell of pumpkin seeds fills every corner of the room from the oven, just about the only source of electricity used in production. at the other end of the prism, the juicy non-alcoholic market, increasingly taken over by major brands, relies for the most part on costly industrial processes to deal with the dealcoholization of wines, beers and spirits. See this post on Instagram A publication shared by Benoît d'Onofrio (@le_sobrelier) Extraction, racking, pressing To avoid producing alcohol in his beverages, Benoît keeps a close eye on the natural sugars that can initiate this transformation. The challenge is to dilute their ardor without losing taste. Benoît crushes by hand to gently extract aromas and matter, macerates, racking, pressing and gravity-filtering. So many borrowings from the world of wine, his frame of reference. From now on, discussions with his winegrower and winemaker customers will focus on technical subtleties. "I'm confronted with similar problems, with deviances such as volatile acidity or oxidation". Nevertheless, the liquid rosé and then the second coppery one he pours into the stemmed glasses in front of him are not presented as alcohol-free wines. "I refuse to value a drink for what it doesn't have. That's the game of the de-alcoholized market, but my aim is not to make people think they're drinking wine. These beverages belong by the plate for what they are. Moreover, the sommelier is not historically bound to spirits, but to all beverages, from water to coffee." Wandering aromas on the back of the vintage bottles laid out on the table, the labels bring together a dozen or so ingredients, as if drawn at random from a hat (from muscat grapes to roasted bread to watermelon). The only purpose of detail is transparency: "Two markets are facing each other: the wine industry, which is struggling economically, and another that is banging on about alcohol, but is not obliged to detail the composition of its products, nor the quality of the raw materials,nor the bubbles.nor the quality of the raw materials, nor the artificial bubbles, nor the extravagant real sugar contents", says the sobrelier, convinced that there is room for everyone and no barbed wire. He dips his nose into the first glass, and is moved: "Three months later, the beet has taken center stage, underscoring the evolving nature of the beverages. The cuvée has a vinous density and lingers with a vegetal bitterness perfumed with thyme and citrus. next to it, the second beverage has a line of acidity running through it in a plump sip. It suggests warm spices, cinnamon, nutmeg and cardamom, even though none of these ingredients were used in this recipe based on apple, melon and herbs, all sourced from the same market-garden farm. Through fermentation, the elements melt aromatically or wander. "For example, the tarragon used can easily evoke licorice," he explains. "The richness of a drink is not based on alcohol or sugar. It's the fermentation that matters, its ability to create an aromatic whole, a subtle acidity, a perception of deep salinity." And to take it further than grapes or other basic botanicals, a familiar concept in well-born bottles. Benoît d'Onofrio's three recommendations for living fermented beverages: Atelier Particulier de Fermentation, Elsa Steullet 11h11 Fermentations Ô de Fleurs, Stéphanie Cohen

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