Barbancourt Réserve Spéciale Five Star

At the outset, the indigenous people of Hispaniola were cut down by the Spanish conquistadors. The French brought African slaves  to serve on plantations. Numerous rebellions led finally to the victorious one and Haiti deleted independence in 1804. Unauthorized liberation incurred loss for landowners, simple as that. Haiti compensates debt to France up to a year 1947. Former colonizers interfere for decades which results in corruption and poverty. Americans install dictatorships subordinate to their corporations.  In 1986, the dictatorship was replaced by a military junta. Ten years ago, the earthquake claimed over 200,000 lives. The current president and a banana exporter in one person governs the country like a private farm. The average age of a resident is 20 years.  Unemployment is reaching 85%. Meet the poorest country in the northern hemisphere - Haiti.

The distillery was founded in 1862 by the French immigrant Dupré Barbancourt. He made double-distilled rum using pot stills; similar method as in cognac production from his native Charente. The plant survived dictators as well as natural disasters. The family of the founder's wife, Gardère, runs the business to this day.

Fresh cane juice comes from 4,000 local independent farmers. The distillery requires 240 tons of sugar cane daily. Recently, the Barbancourt has switched to a three-column distillation. Efficiency increased,  tradition suffered a little. The rum matures for 8 years in limousin oak barrels. The final product is free of any additives.