BOLOGNA DISTILLERY

Located at the foot of the volcano, the three-century-old Bologna distillery has retained the name of the owners of the sugar factory in the 17th and 18th centuries. It was a family of Protestants from the Netherlands. The sugar factory, created around 1665, is in the 19th century one of the most important of Basse-Terre and the oldest of Guadeloupe. In 1830, Jean-Antoine Amé Noël, a free man of color and former fisherman, acquired it. After several changes of owners, Louis Sargenton-Callard bought the Bologne house in 1930 and turned it into a modern distillery. On the present site, the distillery and the bottling building mark the main entrance to the estate. At the back, the main house and the house of the manager of the house are located. Some remains are still visible, notably the canal mace engraved with the name of Jacob Lesueur and the tomb of Amé Noël. A water wheel, 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 (reservation required). This distillery has recently made great efforts in the treatment of its industrial waste in order to recycle it completely. At the end of the visit, you are invited to taste one of their rums or cocktails in an authentic, typically Guadeloupean setting. A large souvenir store offers Bologna rums and other gift ideas.