HBS Distillery visit – Habitation Beauséjour |

In the heart of the sugar cane fields,

an ancestral activity

I’m welcomed by Brice, the current distiller – who will soon be taken over by Maureen – who suggests I begin my visit by observing the agricultural work of the workers on the estate. We’re going to follow the different phases, from cutting to crushing the cane, the prelude to distillation. Brice takes the opportunity to explain the techniques used, while telling me about the renaissance of H.B.S. rums.

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“We use only 3 hectares of sugar cane out of the 60 planted on the estate (the other 57 are harvested by J.M). At H.B.S, the sugar cane is cut by hand, and we change plots regularly. With only two cutting points, hand-harvesting gives clean, sugar-laden cane and different tones to our rums. “

In the field, Christopher cuts the sugar cane, while his two colleagues Patrice and Stéphane pick it up and load it onto the cart. To supply the distillery on a daily basis, two carts are needed (around 1.2 tons of sugar cane). The cane is transported to the distillery by tractor. They then press and grind it in a Brazilian-type mill to extract the maximum amount of juice (vesou). “We make two rotations a day and distill 4 times a week all year round: Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. “

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Production of H.B.S. rums

Cane crushing

“The De Lucy family, owners of Habitation Beauséjour and H.B.S. rums, replanted cane after bananas were abandoned in 2007, and decided to relaunch agricultural rum production. We are not part of the AOC, as we distill in alembics rather than Creole columns. This means we can harvest and produce all year round. This suits our small production very well! “

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Broyage Distillerie Hbs Habitationbeausejour Grandriviere Martinique Copy

Still distillation

880 liters of cane juice (still capacity) are first stored in a large tank after crushing, before being transported to the distillation room. The cane wine rests and ferments for 48 hours before entering the still, which will be manufactured in the Gers region in 2019. As with cognac or armagnac, the wine is heated and produces vapors, giving an alcohol titrating close to 30° in the swan neck.

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Aging

“I then run this juice through a 9-tray concentration column to increase the sugar concentration and raise the alcohol content. With our 880 L still, I obtain 75 L of rum. Part of it is kept in stainless steel vats for 6 months, during which time I add water until I obtain the desired titration (53° at H.B.S.). A small part is reduced in dames jeannes (we have 13 of them) for our limited-edition white rum, an original feature that adds a great deal of roundness! In all, it takes around 9 months from cutting the cane to bottling. The rest of the white rum is aged in oak barrels.

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Visit and Tasting

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The tour of the current installations and the buildings of the old distillery is free, and you can wander around and get your bearings thanks to the map and explanatory panels tracing the history of the dwelling and the rum-making process. It’s a small distillery, so you really feel in the “thick of things” and the weight of history. There’s also a museum room where you can see a number of objects from the past, including a waterwheel.

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H.B.S. Rums

After all this explanation and immersion in the production site, it’s time for a tasting! Brice introduces me to the young range of H.B.S. rums. The brand now has 3 white rum cuvées: “Cuvée du Voyageur”, “Cuvée Dame Jeanne” and a “Brut d’alambic“.

Discover HBS rums

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The 1st H.B.S. aged rum, “Le Flamboyant

And for the first time this year, a cuvée of aged rum aged in 2020, “Le Flamboyant”, has been available from the distillery since the end of July, in a limited edition of 800 bottles, all numbered.

Habitation Beauséjour dates from the 17th century

A little history...

Habitation Beauséjour dates back to 1671, and has since been occupied by various owners.

According to the archives, the “Beau-Séjour” sugar refinery became a distillery under the impetus of the Aries brothers around 1883. A few years later, in 1898, the famous Senator Amédée Knight bought the distillery, developed it and created the H.B.S (Habitation Beauséjour) brand. Bought by Louis de Lucy de Fossarieu in 1928, the rum won a gold medal at the Exposition Coloniale in Paris in 1932, and is considered one of the finest rums of the first half of the ^20th century.

In 1958, falling sugar and rum prices led to the replacement of sugar cane by bananas. The distillery disappeared. The Beauséjour dwelling is still inhabited by Lucy de Fossarieu’s family.

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In 2007, the blocking of an irrigation project necessary for the survival of the banana and vegetable crops brought the farm buildings to a halt. The dwellings had to adapt and were turned over to sugarcane cultivation. Old buildings still stand, such as the 4-kilometer aqueduct, a true technical feat for its time. In 2019, Jean-Louis and his son Arthur de Lucy decided to revive their heritage and reopen the distillery. The rest of the story is written in the lovely bottles I bought at the boutique…

I thank Brice, who accompanied me throughout my visit, and enjoy the view one last time before taking the road back into the rainforest.

A moment out of time!

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The Habitation Beauséjour house

The main house is a private residence and is not open to the public. Don’t miss the Heritage Days to discover the estate and its gardens, which are open to the public on that day! Date: September 21 and 22, 2024.

Information & free booking

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* Alcohol abuse is dangerous for your health, and should be consumed in moderation.