Riviere du Mat
The rum brand Rivière du Mât represents one of the oldest and most important realities of Réunion, a French island in the Indian Ocean located east of Madagascar and part of the Mascarene archipelago. Founded in 1886 on the banks of the Rivière du Mât river, in 1984 the Distillerie de la Rivière du Mât moved to the town of Saint-Benoît, on the eastern coast of the island, equipping itself with the most modern and efficient production tools. The name Rivière du Mât comes from the river of the same name that flows on the island, which in turn derives its name from an ancient legend according to which a ship sent to explore the island of Réunion ran aground in the riverbed, leaving the mast, “mât” in French, visible for years. Today Rivière du Mât is the largest distillery in Réunion by volume produced, as well as one of the only three still active on the island.
The the production of the Rivière du Mât distillery begins with the cultivation of sugar cane on the volcanic soils of the island of Réunion. From the processing of the plant, molasses is obtained, which is combined with pure water from the eastern rivers of the island before the alcoholic fermentation process. Once the fermentation phase is complete, distillation in pot stills follows, followed by an original aging procedure inspired by the dynamic systems of Cognac. The technique involves the use of new and aged barrels of French or American oak, from which the rum is moved to large tanks of 15,000 hectoliters several times a year and then transferred back to the barrels. This complex procedure aims at blending distillates from different barrels and ages to obtain intense and complex rums.
tropical essence of the island of Réunion, ranging from the most accessible white rums to the most prestigious and complex aged rums.The rum brand Rivière du Mât represents one of the oldest and most important realities of Réunion, a French island in the Indian Ocean located east of Madagascar and part of the Mascarene archipelago. Founded in 1886 on the banks of the Rivière du Mât river, in 1984 the Distillerie de la Rivière du Mât moved to the town of Saint-Benoît, on the eastern coast of the island, equipping itself with the most modern and efficient production tools. The name Rivière du Mât comes from the river of the same name that flows on the island, which in turn derives its name from an ancient legend according to which a ship sent to explore the island of Réunion ran aground in the riverbed, leaving the mast, “mât” in French, visible for years. Today Rivière du Mât is the largest distillery in Réunion by volume produced, as well as one of the only three still active on the island.
The the production of the Rivière du Mât distillery begins with the cultivation of sugar cane on the volcanic soils of the island of Réunion. From the processing of the plant, molasses is obtained, which is combined with pure water from the eastern rivers of the island before the alcoholic fermentation process. Once the fermentation phase is complete, distillation in pot stills follows, followed by an original aging procedure inspired by the dynamic systems of Cognac. The technique involves the use of new and aged barrels of French or American oak, from which the rum is moved to large tanks of 15,000 hectoliters several times a year and then transferred back to the barrels. This complex procedure aims at blending distillates from different barrels and ages to obtain intense and complex rums.
tropical essence of the island of Réunion, ranging from the most accessible white rums to the most prestigious and complex aged rums.