Negrita (sometimes referred to as Negrita Rum or Rhum Negrita) is a French rum brand. It has origins back to the mid-1800s and is currently owned by French spirit company La Martiniquaise.

History

Negrita was first blended and labeled by the Bardinet Company of France in the mid-1800s. It was founded by Paul Bardinet who was a young producer of liqueurs in the French commune of

Limoges Limoges ( , , ; , locally ) is a city and Communes of France, commune, and the prefecture of the Haute-Vienne Departments of France, department in west-central France. It was the administrative capital of the former Limousin region. Situated o ...

. He experimented with different blends of tafia to create the new rum. The brand was advertised through billboards with the slogan "el ron de la Negrita" (en. "the rum of the little black girl") with a picture of a Caribbean girl wearing Madras ribbons in her hair. The image became the symbol of the brand and the name was trademarked in 1886. Bardinet's son, Edouard Bardinet, moved the operations to

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...

in 1895. He added whiskey and brandies to the company portfolio, with Negrita staying as the symbol of the Bardinet Company. In 1993, the company became part of La Martiniquaise. By 1994, Negrita was the flagship brand of dark rum, accounting for 41% of grocery sales in Europe.

Production

Negrita is a blended rum which is distilled on the French islands of

Réunion Réunion (; ; ; known as before 1848) is an island in the Indian Ocean that is an overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France. Part of the Mascarene Islands, it is located approximately east of the isl ...

Guadeloupe Guadeloupe is an Overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France in the Caribbean. It consists of six inhabited islands—Basse-Terre Island, Basse-Terre, Grande-Terre, Guadeloupe, Grande-Terre, Marie-Galant ...

, and

Martinique Martinique ( ; or ; Kalinago language, Kalinago: or ) is an island in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the eastern Caribbean Sea. It was previously known as Iguanacaera which translates to iguana island in Carib language, Kariʼn ...

. It is made from sugar cane juice (i.e. rhum agricole), not molasses.

References

{{Reflist Dark rums Rum brands Sugar industry of France Economy of Overseas France

History

Production

See also

References