A trip to Guadeloupe Part 1

Part 1 of our deep dive into the Distilleries of Guadeloupe

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In 2017, Martin and I had the great fortune to be invited on the first of its kind tour of rum distilleries of Guadeloupe in collaboration with the tourism board. It was a kind of test-bed trip – what would be the feasibility of having tourists make these visits in the future. Over the next few weeks, we will do a deeper dive into Guadeloupe, showcasing the distilleries we visited and the rum we tasted!

About Guadeloupe and its Rum History

Guadeloupe is a French Department, like Martinique, meaning it is a region of France – it uses the Euro, and if you were to fly there from Paris it would be a domestic flight

Guadeloupe consists of 6 inhabited islands, including 3 that produce rum: Grande Terre, Basse Terre (hard to see, but there is a sliver of water between known as the Riviere Salee), and Marie-Galante

The first identifiable indigenous people of the island were the Arawak Columbus sailed there in 1493 and named the island Santa María de Guadalupe (Gwadaloopeh) after the Our Lady of Guadalupe shrine in Extremadura, Spain

When it became a French colony, Guadeloupe kept the name but made it French in spelling and pronunciation (gwaa·duh·loop)[RC1.1]

Marie-Galante is an island of Guadeloupe, but they have a lot of individual pride in their island, and specifically in their rum (their labels also typically say Marie-Galante proudly on them).
At Smuggler’s Cove, we list Marie-Galante separate from Guadeloupe in our rum list.

Sugar arrived to Guadeloupe in the 1600s. Sugar and rum production boomed in the early 1800s, mostly molasses-based. The price of sugar crashed in the 1880s and, like Martinique, Guadeloupe began making cane juice rum for local consumption.

In 1902 the volcano Mt. Pele erupted on Martinique, wiping out most of its rum distillation capabilities, so Guadeloupe had a big increase in exports while Martinique recovered. There was a large demand for molasses rum from Guadeloupe during WWI and WWII for use by the French military.

Between and after the wars, there was lots of consolidation of sugar estates and distilleries and, unlike Martinique who promoted their Agricole rum, Guadeloupe remained mainly a local rum.

This began to change around 2015 when Guadeloupe got its own PGI (protected geographical indication) for rum. This PGI is less restrictive than Martinique’s AOC and, importantly allows:

• Sugar cane syrup or molasses

• Up to 90% ABV

• More types of stills – not just a creole column still

• Distillation anywhere and anytime

Guadeloupe has traditionally produced more molasses-based rum than Agricole-style (cane juice rum), though by 2020 they were nearly equal, and the country is becoming known for their magnificent Agricole style rums.

Distilleries we visited

• Damoiseau

• Distillerie Poisson that produces Pére Labat [RC2.1]

• Bellevue Marie Galante – coming soon!

• Bielle – coming soon!

• Reimonenq – coming soon!

• Longueteau – coming soon!

• Karukera – coming soon!

• Bologne – coming soon!

Damoiseau

By far, the largest Agricole distillery in Guadeloupe is Damoiseau. Founded in 1942 by taking over a closed estate and distillery.
It has been in the hands of 3 generations of the Damoiseau family – currently the CEO is the founder’s grandson Herve. Damoiseau Processes around 30,000 tons of sugarcane a year After the initial shredding, a conveyer belt pushes the shredded cane through several mill rollers.

This video shows a close-up of one of the rollers press out the juice:

Poisson (Pére Labat)

Sugar factory on this site was established in 1753 and distillation began in 1916.
Distillerie Poisson is the smallest of the Marie-Galante Distilleries. Currently also houses Capovilla Rhum Rhum distillery, a collaboration between Velier’s Luca Gargano and Gianna Capovilla.

Guadeloupe rum available in the United States

The rums that you might be able to find in the United States from the distilleries we discuss here are:

Rhum Pere Labat Blanc 59%

Damoiseau Rhum Vieux Guadeloupe 15 Yr