Behind Providence
Behind Providence, as at the heart of the many still living and smoking distilleries around the world, there are individuals who work to keep the stories alive, so that the traditions endure and repeat themselves as much as possible.
From Providence, you probably know Luca Gargano, who one day had this crazy idea of creating a distillery on his favorite island, Haiti. On the other side, the Barbancourt-Linge de Berling family, anchored in the Haitian terroir for more than a century and attached to the history of another emblematic distillery of the island. Owner of the Vieux Labbé rum brand - launched in 1999 - Herbert Barbancourt-Linge Sr has long cherished the idea, one day, of launching his own distillery, striking out on his own and finally producing the clairin that he until then bought from producers on the island.
More than two decades later, in 2017, the Providence project finally saw the light of day and construction of the Port-au-Prince Distillery began the following year. Herbert Barbancourt-Linge Jr. supervised the smallest details under the supervision of his father and the company La Maison & Velier, associated with the adventure. The distillery is entirely designed by Gianni Capovilla (renowned Italian grappa distiller) who supervises the installation of the stills: a Müller copper still with a capacity of 1,500 liters is thus installed on the Providence site, in Port-au -Prince, while a second operates at Michel Sajous, another producer on the island. It was at his home in Saint-Michel-de-l'Attalaye, in the south of the island, that the first distillation for the cane juice was carried out (the second was done in Providence). It is also the latter which supplies Providence with cane syrup, another raw material used for the manufacture of the eponymous rums.
The year 2019 opens the way to Providence and the first drops finally flow... Gianni Capovilla has since returned to his native Italy and the distillation is now in the expert hands of Herbert Jr and Wendy, two men behind the rum.
Born in Cap Haïtien some 34 years ago, Wendy left the north of the country to settle in her twenties in Port-au-Prince. Thanks to his brother, he joined Berling SA in 2011, where he took care of the bottling of Vieux Labbé rum. He quickly showed an interest in product preparation and soon took care of the brand's assemblies. A few years later, when Providence was born, he took a further step and became involved in the distillery: he became a supervisor and was directly involved in all stages of rum manufacturing: from fermentation to distillation. , he learned the fundamentals from Herbert Jr. who gave him more and more responsibilities.
More than a decade after her arrival at the Berling company, Wendy plays an integral role in the Providence adventure. He knew how to trace his path through self-sacrifice and willpower and, like so many others, in many other distilleries still alive and smoking, he is one of those people who work to ensure that the stories continue, so that the traditions persist and are repeated as much as possible.
