The Longueteau Distillery is the oldest distillery in Guadeloupe, and amongst the oldest in the Caribbean. In 1895, Henri Longueteau transformed the old sugar refinery to make Rhum Agricole, the French Designation for Agricole Rum (a rum made from the fermentation and distillation of fresh sugar cane juice).
Nowadays, the Longueteau Distillery is the only 100% self-sufficient sugar cane distillery in Guadeloupe. The cane fields are located on the Domaine du Marquisat de Sainte-Marie, at the foothill of the Soufrière volcano the furthest field being at a 30 minutes tractor ride.
Thanks to the immediate proximity of the plots, the sugar cane is crushed in a very short period of time which ensures the preservation of the organoleptic and bacterial properties, making it possible to obtain the best and freshest juice for the fermentation.
The production quality of Longueteau distillery is the result of an excellent mastery of all the manufacturing process of Agricole rum: agriculture, harvesting, distillation and aging. The Distillery also applies the principles of sustainable farming to ensure that its fields and sugar canes meet the highest quality standards.
AGRICOLE RUM
Agricole rum, like molasse rum, comes from sugar cane that is cut and then crushed to extract its juice. To obtain molasses rum, the juice is heated and concentrated, to extract the sugar on the one hand and the molasses on the other. This thick and viscous liquid is fermented and then distilled.
Agricole rum differs from molasses rums as it is made from fresh cane juice that is directly fermented after crushing. Thanks to the yeasts, the cane is able to ferment and turn into wine which is then distilled into rum. The result is a very expressive white rum, with aromas of fresh cane, plants and exotic fruits or spices.
Agricole Rum is a rum with absolutely no voluntarily added sweeteners. No sugar or sweeteners are added other than the natural extracts that the cask reveals from previous batches when the rum is aged.
The aromatic and taste characteristics of Agricole rums are very different from molasses rums, as are their history, their production method and the culture of their geographical location of production.
Agricole rum represents 2 to 3% of the global market share. The French overseas departments (Guadeloupe, Martinique, Réunion and Guyana) are the only territories in the world (along with the Portuguese island Madeira) to produce Agricole rum. To maintain the quality of this designation, producers must comply with strict regulations for harvesting, fermentation, distillation and aging that do not apply to other rum producers. Other countries which make rum from pure cane juice cannot benefit from the « Rhum Agricole » designation.
CONTINUOUS COLUMN DISTILLATION
Continuous distillation is performed with a unique, single column called «Creole». The column is made of different plates that allow the master distiller to control evaporation. Rums from Creole columns are very aromatic and have a high degree of alcohol.
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