Alexandre Gabriel, Master Blender and Owner of Maison Ferrand, has turned the company into one of the most important producers of fine spirits in the industry. He’s a bibliophile, voracious reader of historic texts, a farmer, and a perfectionist. As the charismatic leader of a band of misfits, he and his team have brought the world elegant Cognac, obtained permission to distill gin in Cognac stills during the off-season, and produces liqueurs that recall his childhood in Burgundy. But one of the biggest marks he’s leaving on the industry is with Plantation Rum. There is nary a rum producer that he doesn’t know. His Grands Terroirs series of rums exhibit the very essence of the islands from which they’re produced. His recent acquisition of the West Indies Rum Distillery in Barbados is guaranteed to ensure that we’ll be tasting new expressions of Plantation Rums for decades to come.