Episode #15: Rhum Barbancourt: Inside an Iconic Haitian Brand with CEO Delphine Gardère
Rhum Barbancourt is a square peg to the round holes of rum categorization. It’s made with fresh sugarcane juice in a nation with historic ties to France, but it is not rhum agricole. It hails from Haiti, but there is a world of difference between it and clairin. Its production has aspects associated with all three of the colonial-based French, Spanish, and British categories. To get to the core of what makes Rhum Barbancourt unique, we sat down with the company’s new CEO—and fifth generation member of the family that started the brand—Delphine Gardère. We discussed: The aspects of production that make Barbancourt distinct from other rums Barbancourt’s relationship with the 3,000+ farmers that supply the distillery’s sugarcane Delphine’s vision for the company, and the relationship between maintaining tradition vs. trying new things What it means as a company to be an ambassador for Haiti The importance of elevating women in the spirits industry and transitioning from a male-dominated environment Barbancourt’s approach to aging with a combination of vats and different cask types Bringing pot still production back to the distillery (and what kinds of releases it might yield) And much more!