Père Labat is the rhum agricole of Distillerie Poisson on Marie-Galante, the small, flat, cane-covered island a short ferry ride from Guadeloupe that serious agricole drinkers treat as hallowed ground. The distillery was founded in 1916 by Édouard Rameau and named for Père Jean-Baptiste Labat, the Dominican friar who arrived in the French Antilles in the 1690s and modernized the way rum was distilled there. More than a century later, Poisson still does things the slow way: cane is cut by hand and crushed within hours of harvest, the fresh juice ferments slowly with no added sugar, and the wash runs through a red-copper Creole column that gives the rhum its dense, grassy, peppery character. Marie-Galante white rhum is famous for its intensity, and Père Labat's blancs are the island's calling card, from a friendly 40% liter for Ti' Punch to undiluted still-strength bottlings at 71%, including an organic release and Les Mangles, a numbered single-plot rhum from one parcel of purple cane on the north side of the estate. The aged range runs from the six-year Réserve Familiale through the eight-year Hors d'Âge, where the cane pepper folds into vanilla, tobacco, and dried fruit without ever losing the taste of the island.

Browse our full Père Labat collection with fast nationwide shipping delivered straight to your door.