Habitation Saint-Étienne, or H.S.E., is a distillery built to replace an old sugar mill, La Maugée, covering more than 400 hectares from Gros-Morne to Saint-Joseph.

In 1882, the distillery was bought by Amédée Aubéry, a young captain of industry who became one of the iconic figures of the Martinican economy. Towards the end of the 19th century, faced with the sugar crisis, it was converted into a distillery, like many sugar plantations of the time.

Amédée Aubéry expanded the factory and gave it a remarkable façade with 28 arched windows, ensuring optimal ventilation of the building. He modernized the entire facility to maximize rum production efficiency.

In 1909, the distillery was bought by the Simonnet family, who developed the business until its decline in the late 1980s. In 1994, Yves and José Hayot took over the operation, relaunched the Saint-Étienne brand, and undertook the restoration and enhancement of the architectural heritage of the property.

Today, although rum distillation no longer takes place (since 1988), it continues to produce rums, known as HSE rums. Its preserved architectural ensemble is one of the best examples of the housing system in Martinique, offering a glimpse into life in the 19th century. The master's house and the former slave huts, later used by paid workers, have survived for two centuries and are open to visitors.

The site is listed in the Supplementary Inventory of Historic Monuments (I.S.M.H.). During the tour, you can see how HSE rum is produced, including the barrel storage system and bottling process, before tasting the rums made on site. Numerous exhibitions are held there throughout the year.

The La Mauny distillery was founded in 1749. It takes its name from Count Ferdinand Poulain, the Count of Mauny, who settled in Martinique in the early 18th century. Originally, the La Mauny estate was dedicated to sugar production, but it successfully weathered the sugar crisis by shifting toward the production of agricultural rum around the mid-20th century.

The property was acquired by brothers Théodore and Georges Bellonnie. In the 1970s, Théodore Bellonnie partnered with the Bourdillon families to form the Rhums La Mauny company. The company was renamed Bellonnie Bourdillon et Successeurs (BBS), which also owns the Trois Rivières and Duquesne brands.

Since then, Trois Rivières and Duquesne rums have been produced at the La Mauny distillery. During the guided tour, you’ll discover how La Mauny’s various rums are made, from fresh cane juice to bottling. A tasting of different rums and punch varieties is also offered.

At the end of the tour, you can visit the shop to purchase rum or brand-related products from La Mauny, Trois Rivières, and Duquesne. You’ll also find punch made with La Mauny’s different rums.

To get there, head toward Rivière-Pilote via the N8. Signage will guide you to the distillery from there.

La Favorite distillery was born in 1842 between Fort-de-France and Lamentin under the name of "Distillery Jambette", named after the river that fed it.

Its name was changed in 1851 by its owner, Charles Henry, in reference to an anecdote. Indeed, Joséphine de Beauharnais would have offered a bottle of rum from Habitation Jambette to Napoleon at the beginning of the First Empire, and she would say "This is my favorite liquor".

The estate has belonged to the Dormoy family for three generations. The estate, which has experienced ups and downs in its history due to periods of prosperity followed by more difficult times, was even a sugar factory at one point before becoming a distillery again.

Today, La Favorite is one of the last remaining family-owned and independent distilleries. It offers a wide variety of rums, including white rum, amber rum, and aged rum.

At the end of the 17th century, the famous “Father Labat” was the parish priest of the commune of Macouba. At that time, the house located on the banks of the Roche River was a sugar plantation.

In 1790, Antoine Leroux-Préville acquired it and gave it its current name, Fonds-Préville. In 1845, Antoine Leroux-Préville's daughters sold the property to Jean-Marie Martin, a merchant in Saint-Pierre and husband of Marie Ferment, daughter of a major plantation owner on the island.

Today, the Crassous de Médeuil heirs farm Martinique's three main crops: bananas (75 ha), pineapples (6 ha), and sugar cane (55 ha). It is the only farm to do so using crop rotation. The presence of these three crops and the JM distillery on the same farm is unique in Martinique and even in the Caribbean.

Since November 1996, Martinique's agricultural rums, including JM rums, have been awarded the Martinique Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée (AOC) designation. The Bellevue estate has 150 hectares of arable land, all of which is AOC terroir.

Distillerie Dillon owes its name to Count Arthur Dillon, general and hero of the American Revolutionary War. He married a cousin of Joséphine de Beauharnais, Laure Girardin de Montgérald, owner of the house which, through this marriage, became the Dillon house. Elected deputy for Martinique in 1789, he was accused of conspiracy by Robespierre and beheaded in April 1794.

In 1857, Habitation Dillon was bought by the mayor of Saint Pierre, Pierre Hervé, who restored the canal and the dyke, and built a sugar mill, a guildery and railroads. But the sugar crisis of 1866 ruined it, and the plantation became a public limited company managed by Louis Domergue.

In 1891, a cyclone devastated the 18th-century dwelling and led to the death of Louis Domergue. In 1900, his son Raoul rebuilt it from a house in Saint-Pierre, which he had dismantled beam by beam, thus saving it from disaster.

But in 1919, one of the administrators had to comply with the quota policy and ended up transforming, in 1928, the distillery into a sugar factory. Managed by the de Laguarigue family, Habitation Dillon did not start making agricultural rum again until 1954.

It was bought in 1967 by the Bordeaux family company Bardinet: in more than twenty years, the Bardinet Group will quadruple its annual production by investing in fermentation tanks, distillation columns and an aging cellar with a capacity of three thousand barrels.

Since 1981, Dillon rum has been regularly awarded at the Concours Général Agricole, thus confirming its qualitative and commercial progress both on the Martinican and Guyanese markets as well as in mainland France, where it holds first place. Having become the property of the company La Martiniquaise in 1993, the Dillon brand continues to contribute to the influence of the Controlled Designation of Origin (A.O.C. in French for Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée) Martinique, obtained in 1996.

Today, the Dillon distillery produces both rums and punches. During the visit, a slide show will allow you to see and understand the production and the different stages of production of agricultural rum, and then a tasting will be offered.

Unlike other distilleries and rum producers in Martinique, which have more than a century of history, the Neisson distillery was founded in the 20th century. In 1932, brothers Adrien and Jean Neisson created Habitation Neisson on the grounds of La Thieubert, a former plantation in the town of Carbet. Adrien built his small distillery with his own hands, salvaging a boiler dating back to 1830 and bringing new mills from France.

Although small in size, the Neisson Distillery already stood out from its competitors at the time due to the quality of its rum, which it distributed locally. With the help of his brother, Jean Neisson, a chemical engineer, they began developing the square bottle known as “Zépol Karé” and established a distribution network in Paris.

Since its creation in 1932, Distillerie Neisson, one of Martinique's last family-owned distilleries, has preserved the ingredients of high-quality rum in the purest Martinique tradition.

The distillery is now run by the daughter and grandson of Hildevert-Pamphille Neisson, the distillery's founder.

Habitation Clement is THE place to visit absolutely from Martinique. Throughout its history, what it represents for Martinique's past and present, this symbolic place will immerse you in the heart of the history of Martinique. Habitation Clement is a former sugar plantation. In 1996, it was classified as a historical monument. The property, on an area of ​​approximately 300 hectares, is called Domaine de l'Acajou.

Originally called "Habitation Acajou" by its first owners, Louis Hodebourg Desbrosses and Simon de Bassigny, Habitation housing was bought in 1887 by the Mayor of François, Homere Clement. Homere Clement was a descendant of a freed slave. First, he cultivates sugar cane, which he sells to the factory of François. Then, in 1917, following an order, he was allowed to build a small distillery.

When he died in 1923, his son Charles, an engineer who graduated from the École Centrale des Arts et Manufactures in Paris and the Institut Pasteur, took over the business and worked to improve the quality (fermentation and distillation) of agricultural rums. He created the Acajou brand in the 1930s and Clément in the 1940s.

The company prospered until the 1980s before experiencing economic difficulties. It was bought by the Bernard Hayot Group in 1986. It was then that it definitively took the name “Habitation Clément” in tribute to the family that had made it prosper.

In 1991, following the Gulf War, it was a meeting place of prestige between the President of the French Republic at the time, François Mitterrand, and the President of the United States, George Bush.

Today, it is divided into three parts:

• the former Clément rum distillery, which is now a museum,
• the Clément rum aging cellars, which are still in use, and
• residential buildings, some of which are open to visitors.

You can also see many tropical plants and trees over an area of ​​17 hectares. The tour is free but paid and is done through audioguides freely distributed at the beginning of the visit.

Baignoire de Joséphine is a must-see tourist site in Martinique, located in the commune of Le François on the Atlantic coast. It owes its name to the fact that, according to legend, Empress Joséphine de Beauharnais, wife of Napoleon 1st, liked to bathe here regularly.

The water is clear and limpid, with a shallow white fond blanc barely a meter deep. This little spot between heaven and earth often leaves a lasting impression.

It is accessible by boat or kayak from Le François. Acras and rum tastings or local cocktails are often offered.

To get there, all you have to do is go to the commune of Le François near the coast, where you'll see the stands of tour operators offering to take you there.

It's possible to go there without making an appointment, except during peak periods when it's strongly recommended to book in advance with a tour operator.

Photo credit: https://kikisbackpackingtour.fr