Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/1331779
49 Green is the new color of rhum. Founded by entrepreneur Tristan Mermin, Batiste Rhum was designed to be the first eco-positive, clean, and sustainable U.S.-based craft rhum brand with a single source in the French Caribbean. "All of the ethics and interests of the food movement that have been growing over the last 20 years—sustainability, organic product—they are about to start coming into spirits in a more meaningful way," says Mermin. "[Batiste's distillery partner] opened in 2003 with support from the EU and the French government to build the first ecologically correct distillery." Raw rhum agricole is imported, aged, and finished in Napa, California, to produce the existing Batiste expressions: Silver and Gold. The Silver offers a clean, floral flavor profile with vanilla, bread dough, and tapioca. Though his rhum can also be sipped neat, Mermin is keen to express that it's designed for cocktails and also proudly notes that it's free from additives, preservatives, and flavoring chemicals—not to mention free from guilt for consumers. "If we get it right, personally I believe the ultimate material to make alcohol from is sugarcane," says Mermin. "It's a perennial product—if you treat it correctly, it just keeps growing and growing. There's a lot of benefit to working with sugarcane. It's the only material that you juice the body of to make alcohol." Captain Planet : BATISTE RHUM Rhumtini ✘ 1½ oz. Batiste Rhum Silver ✘ ½ oz. Dolin White Vermouth Garnish with a lime twist. Batiste Rhum founder Tristan Mermin.