Habitation Damoiseau, prohibition to set foot on the ground.

The Habitation Damoiseau is a distillery located in the municipality of the Moule.

It is the last distillery of Grande-Terre.

“Grande Terre Grand Rhum”

Open Monday to Friday from 7 am to 2 pm and Saturday from 8 am to 5.30 pm. The visit and tastings are free. A link from their site allows you to visit it virtually.

Itinerary

To get to the Habitation Damoiseau, also called “Distillerie Bellevue”, from Pointe-à-Pitre (you must count with one hour drive), take the N5 towards the North of Grande Terre (direction Morne-à-l’Eau and Anse Bertrand). Then take the direction of the commune of Le Moule, cross the village to recover the D101 which will be on your right (direction Bellevue). After five minutes -drive you are on the domain of the Habitation.

A path will take you to the car park. Park and go to the Habitation shop.

Habitation Damoiseau

In front of the shop, take the path on your left to start the visit of the domain.

Continue straight ahead to an alley where you will have plenty of information on the history and design of the Damoiseau Rum.

At the end of the driveway, here you are in front of the rum distillery. You can walk around the distillery or even get in to discover the infrastructure or also enjoy the smell of crushed cane or the smell of fermentation of juice (vessous) during the period of cutting and design rum (February to June).

You will be able to contemplate at the end of the site, the vestiges of the time of the loco-tractors who took the cane towards the distillery for the grinding.

A little history…….

In the 19th century, many rum distilleries were mainly sugar houses. They distilled their rum from molasses resulting from the manufacture of sugar. The rise of the invention of the steam engine and its adoption in sugar houses will intensify and concentrate sugar production in large factories. The isolated habitations will then concentrate exclusively on the production of agricultural rum, improved by the adoption of the European imported tray column replacing the still. After 1960, the closure of most sugar houses puts an end to the production of industrial rum. The agricultural rum takes place with its flavors and terroir, making it a worldwide recognized rum.

In 1914, the Damoiseau distillery (“Bellevue“) was founded.

In 1942, Louis Damoiseau bought the distillery. Family business, the generation that will follow (Roger Damoiseau, Hervé Damoiseau or Jean-Luc, master distiller), will grow the company in terms of production and success in the Caribbean.

In 2012, the rum Damoiseau has celebrated its 70 years which shows the continuity of the success of the brand which is perpetuated over generations. The Damoiseau distillery is the last one of the Grande-Terre.

2013-2014-2015 and 2016, 4 consecutive gold medals for its 50 ° white rum at the “Concours Général Agricole” of Paris.

Let’s go back on the visit of the domain. The other peculiarity of this site is that you also have to see a windmill in good condition that was once used to grind the cane. Go backwards at the junction take the path on your right. This way is easy to recognize with its lime oven.

You arrive in front of the mill that you can visit by going up the ladder.

End of the visit. It’s time to head to the shop to shop and taste the various rum on the counter.

Feel free to visit their website to find out about the latest news and different rums designed by Habitation Damoiseau.

And keep this slogan in mind!

Tips :

Ø Circulation in Guadeloupe: During the week, you will face traffic jams around the Jarry area, especially in the morning, in the direction of Gosier towards Pointe-à-Pitre or Petit-Bourg to Pointe-à-Pitre and vice versa late afternoon. Think about your journey to adapt to this traffic that can be dense and make you lose time easily.

Ø Visit and tastings:
– Interest: 4 out of 5, the walk on the field is very nice. You can visit the distillery, the mill and enjoy the shop to taste the different rum of the Habitation Damoiseau. The visit and the tasting are free. Very important! This is the last distillery on Grande-Terre.

Ø Opening: Open from Monday to Friday from 7 am to 2pm. Saturday from 8 am to 5.30 pm

Various: You can enjoy the beaches around the town of Moule or Saint-François (beach of Raisins Clairs), or visit the Gardel factory located nearby

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OLIVIER Damien, your humble guide

The Dom Loisirs and Culture team is committed to raising awareness of the protection of the biodiversity of the overseas departments.