{
  "api": "/posts/a-trip-to-guadeloupe-part1/index.json",
  "collection": "posts",
  "date": "2026-08-31T09:00:00-07:00",
  "description": "Part 1 of our deep dive into the Distilleries of Guadeloupe",
  "draft": false,
  "fields": {
    "author": "Rebecca Cate",
    "date": "2026-08-31T09:00:00-07:00",
    "description": "Part 1 of our deep dive into the Distilleries of Guadeloupe",
    "draft": false,
    "image": "",
    "lastmod": "2026-08-31T09:00:00-07:00",
    "publishdate": "2026-08-31T09:00:00-07:00",
    "tags": [
      "rum",
      "production",
      "education"
    ],
    "title": "A trip to Guadeloupe Part 1"
  },
  "html": "\u003cp\u003eIn 2017, Martin and I had the great fortune to be invited on the first of its\nkind tour of rum distilleries of Guadeloupe in collaboration with the tourism\nboard. It was a kind of test-bed trip – what would be the feasibility of having\ntourists make these visits in the future. Over the next few weeks, we will do a\ndeeper dive into Guadeloupe, showcasing the distilleries we visited and the rum\nwe tasted!\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"about-guadeloupe-and-its-rum-history\"\u003eAbout Guadeloupe and its Rum History\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGuadeloupe is a French Department, like Martinique, meaning it is a region of\nFrance – it uses the Euro, and if you were to fly there from Paris it would be a\ndomestic flight\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGuadeloupe consists of 6 inhabited islands, including 3 that produce rum: Grande\nTerre, Basse Terre (hard to see, but there is a sliver of water between known as\nthe Riviere Salee), and Marie-Galante\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe first identifiable indigenous people of the island were the Arawak\nColumbus sailed there in 1493 and named the island Santa María de Guadalupe (Gwadaloopeh) after the Our Lady of Guadalupe shrine in Extremadura, Spain\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhen it became a French colony, Guadeloupe kept the name but made it French in spelling and pronunciation (gwaa·duh·loop)[RC1.1]\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMarie-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).\u003cbr\u003e\nAt Smuggler’s Cove, we list Marie-Galante separate from Guadeloupe in our rum list.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSugar 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.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn 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.\nThere was a large demand for molasses rum from Guadeloupe during WWI and WWII for use by the French military.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBetween 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.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis 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:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e•\tSugar cane syrup or molasses\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e•\tUp to 90% ABV\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e•\tMore types of stills – not just a creole column still\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e•\tDistillation anywhere and anytime\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGuadeloupe 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.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"distilleries-we-visited\"\u003eDistilleries we visited\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e•\t\u003cstrong\u003eDamoiseau\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e•\t\u003cstrong\u003eDistillerie Poisson\u003c/strong\u003e that produces Pére Labat [RC2.1]\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e•\tBellevue Marie Galante – coming soon!\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e•\tBielle – coming soon!\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e•\tReimonenq – coming soon!\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e•\tLongueteau – coming soon!\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e•\tKarukera – coming soon!\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e•\tBologne – coming soon!\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"damoiseau\"\u003eDamoiseau\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBy far, the largest Agricole distillery in Guadeloupe is Damoiseau.  Founded in 1942 by taking over a closed estate and distillery.\u003cbr\u003e\nIt has been in the hands of 3 generations of the Damoiseau family – currently the CEO is the founder’s grandson Herve.\nDamoiseau Processes around 30,000 tons of sugarcane a year\nAfter the initial shredding, a conveyer belt pushes the shredded cane through several mill rollers.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis video shows a close-up of one of the rollers press out the juice:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"poisson-pére-labat\"\u003ePoisson (Pére Labat)\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSugar factory on this site was established in 1753 and distillation began in 1916.\u003cbr\u003e\nDistillerie Poisson is the smallest of the Marie-Galante Distilleries.\nCurrently also houses Capovilla Rhum Rhum distillery, a collaboration between Velier’s Luca Gargano and Gianna Capovilla.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"guadeloupe-rum-available-in-the-united-states\"\u003eGuadeloupe rum available in the United States\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe rums that you might be able to find in the United States from the distilleries we discuss here are:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRhum Pere Labat Blanc 59%\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDamoiseau Rhum Vieux Guadeloupe 15 Yr\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n",
  "id": "posts/a-trip-to-Guadeloupe-part1",
  "lastmod": "2026-08-31T09:00:00-07:00",
  "markdown": "\nIn 2017, Martin and I had the great fortune to be invited on the first of its\nkind tour of rum distilleries of Guadeloupe in collaboration with the tourism\nboard. It was a kind of test-bed trip – what would be the feasibility of having\ntourists make these visits in the future. Over the next few weeks, we will do a\ndeeper dive into Guadeloupe, showcasing the distilleries we visited and the rum\nwe tasted!\n\n## About Guadeloupe and its Rum History\n\nGuadeloupe is a French Department, like Martinique, meaning it is a region of\nFrance – it uses the Euro, and if you were to fly there from Paris it would be a\ndomestic flight\n\nGuadeloupe consists of 6 inhabited islands, including 3 that produce rum: Grande\nTerre, Basse Terre (hard to see, but there is a sliver of water between known as\nthe Riviere Salee), and Marie-Galante\n\nThe first identifiable indigenous people of the island were the Arawak\nColumbus sailed there in 1493 and named the island Santa María de Guadalupe (Gwadaloopeh) after the Our Lady of Guadalupe shrine in Extremadura, Spain\n\nWhen it became a French colony, Guadeloupe kept the name but made it French in spelling and pronunciation (gwaa·duh·loop)[RC1.1]\n\nMarie-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).  \nAt Smuggler’s Cove, we list Marie-Galante separate from Guadeloupe in our rum list.  \n\nSugar 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.\n\nIn 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.\nThere was a large demand for molasses rum from Guadeloupe during WWI and WWII for use by the French military.\n\nBetween 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.\n\nThis 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:\n\n•\tSugar cane syrup or molasses\n\n•\tUp to 90% ABV\n\n•\tMore types of stills – not just a creole column still\n\n•\tDistillation anywhere and anytime\n\nGuadeloupe 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.  \n\n\n## Distilleries we visited\n\n•\t**Damoiseau**\n\n•\t**Distillerie Poisson** that produces Pére Labat [RC2.1]\n\n•\tBellevue Marie Galante – coming soon! \n\n•\tBielle – coming soon!\n\n•\tReimonenq – coming soon!\n\n•\tLongueteau – coming soon!\n\n•\tKarukera – coming soon!\n\n•\tBologne – coming soon!\n\n\n\n## Damoiseau \n\nBy far, the largest Agricole distillery in Guadeloupe is Damoiseau.  Founded in 1942 by taking over a closed estate and distillery.  \nIt has been in the hands of 3 generations of the Damoiseau family – currently the CEO is the founder’s grandson Herve.\nDamoiseau Processes around 30,000 tons of sugarcane a year\nAfter the initial shredding, a conveyer belt pushes the shredded cane through several mill rollers.  \n\nThis video shows a close-up of one of the rollers press out the juice:\n\n## Poisson (Pére Labat)\n\nSugar factory on this site was established in 1753 and distillation began in 1916.  \nDistillerie Poisson is the smallest of the Marie-Galante Distilleries.\nCurrently also houses Capovilla Rhum Rhum distillery, a collaboration between Velier’s Luca Gargano and Gianna Capovilla.\n\n## Guadeloupe rum available in the United States\n\nThe rums that you might be able to find in the United States from the distilleries we discuss here are:\n\n**Rhum Pere Labat Blanc 59%**\n\n**Damoiseau Rhum Vieux Guadeloupe 15 Yr**\n\n",
  "readingTime": 4,
  "slug": "a-trip-to-Guadeloupe-part1",
  "summary": "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!",
  "title": "A trip to Guadeloupe Part 1",
  "url": "/posts/a-trip-to-guadeloupe-part1/",
  "weight": 0,
  "wordCount": 655
}