Barbancourt Rum Distillery

Barbancourt has been made at Damien on the edge of Port-au-Prince since 1862, and two things separate it from most Caribbean rum: it is distilled from fresh sugarcane juice rather than molasses, and it is run through a double distillation borrowed from cognac, the founder having come from Charente. It is then aged in Limousin oak. The estate takes cane from surrounding smallholders during the harvest, and visits, when they are running, follow the sequence from cane to cask.

What to look for

• The cane press - fresh juice extracted on site rather than bought in as molasses.
• The double distillation - the cognac-style two-stage process the house is built on.
• The oak cellars - Limousin barrels holding the aged expressions.
• The tasting - the range from the young white to the long-aged reserve.

When to go

January to April is the cane harvest, when the mill is running and there is most to see. Visits must be arranged in advance rather than turned up to. The plain is very hot from May.

Good to know

This is a working industrial site and access depends entirely on arrangement; there is no standing visitor programme. The 2010 earthquake destroyed much of the older plant and what stands is largely rebuilt. Nothing is bought or sold at the gate.

Nearby

Croix-des-Bouquets is east on the same plain, and central Port-au-Prince is southwest.