Bar/fly: Reunion Island

Rum has a long history on Reunion Island. Illustration / NZ Herald

Rum cocktails are de rigueur on the French island of Reunion, finds Kevin Pilley.

"What do you prefer, Monsieur? A blonde or brunette?"

I lifted my shoulders at the barman in an I'll-leave-it-to-the-expert way.

He started to shake.

"I like to have a blonde in the morning. And a brunette in the afternoon," he confessed. He gave a Gallic shrug. "At night, I usually have both."

Every village on L'Isle d'Intense has its own "rhum arrange", a spiced rum cocktail. Reunion Island, a French department in the Indian Ocean and close neighbour of Mauritius, has two types of rum - one fermented from sugar cane juice and one from molasses. Old rum is white and matured in oak barrels. The rest is an amber shade of brunette.

"All of Reunion's history you will find in one glass," said Lucienne at the Table d'Hotes Mirest restaurant in Entre-Deux.

"Surely not all of it," I said, asking for a refill.

Reunion is one of France's four overseas departments but it is the only one in the Southern Hemisphere. Discovered by the Portuguese navigator Pedro Mascarenhas in the 16th century, it was first called Santa Apollonia and its archipelago is still known as the Mascarene Islands.

The French called the 2500sq m volcanic island Bourbon (after the roses which grew in profusion there) and later, after the Revolution, La Reunion des Patriotes. The French Orient Company took official possession in 1642. It became an overseas department of France in 1946.

Rum has a long history on Reunion. Locals made illicit "arack" or "flangourin". In 1845, the Isautier Distillery opened. By 1928 there were 311 distilleries. Now there are only three remaining - Isautier, Savannah (1870) and Riviere-du-Mat (1886) in St Benoit.

"If you behave, you'll be able to taste our best rums after the tour," said the guide at Savannah. We did and then set about perfecting the art of tasting and swallowing fermented sugar cane.

Starting with Metis (peppermint and vanilla) and Cap Savannah (prune and wood) and moving on to blondes and brunettes of all ages, our palates were taught to distinguish between agricultural and commercial "rhums".

"There's plenty of water to savour outside," the barman said, indicating with his right sideburn the other side of the window.

The island is famous for its waterfalls; Cascade Niagara, Les Trois Bassins and Voile de la Mairee (Veil of the Bride).

Reunion, a four-hour flight from Johannesburg, is known as L'Isle d'Intense because it offers outdoor sports and activities like big game fishing, white-water kayaking down the Riviere des Roches, canoeing down the Riviere des Mersouriers, paragliding, microlighting and mountain biking. Barstool climbing is popular too. In the evening, or at any time of day really, you can have your hand around a full-bodied blonde or a mature, tasty brunette.

"Fancy a Dodo?" the barman asked.

"I thought they were extinct?"

"Not here," he answered, sliding me a beer can. The local brew.

CHECKLIST

Getting there: Qantas flies daily to Sydney then on to Johannesburg. From there you can fly to Reunion Island on Air Austral twice weekly on Sundays and Thursdays. It takes about four hours.

Further details: See welcometoreunionisland.com and reunion.fr.