BOLOGNA DISTILLERY

Situated at the foot of the volcano, the three-century-old Bologne distillery retains the name of the owners of the sugar refinery in the ^17th and ^18th centuries. They were a Protestant family from the Netherlands. Founded around 1665, by the ^19th century the factory was one of the largest in Basse-Terre and the oldest in Guadeloupe. It was acquired in 1830 by Jean-Antoine Amé Noël, a free man of color and former fisherman. After several changes of ownership, Louis Sargenton-Callard bought the Bologne dwelling in 1930 and turned it into a modern distillery. On the present site, the distillery and bottling building mark the main entrance to the estate. To the rear are the main house and that of the estate manager. A few remains are still visible, including the canal sledgehammer engraved with Jacob Lesueur's name and the tomb of Amé Noël. A waterwheel, an old cane mill and two copper stills are reminders of the distillery's activities.

Two tours of the distillery (accompanied for safety reasons) are organized in the morning (booking essential). The distillery has recently made considerable efforts to treat its industrial waste in such a way as to recycle all of it. After the tour, you're invited to sample one of their rums or cocktails in an authentic, typically Guadeloupean setting. A large souvenir store sells Bologna rums and other gift ideas.