Bielle is a very old rum distillery named after the Bielle family who founded it in the late 1760s—1769 to be precise. It was created on the site of a former sugar refinery located on the small Caribbean island of Marie-Galante, also known as the “island with a hundred windmills”. Located at around 100 metres above sea level, the distillery originally employed some thirty farmers. Since then, respect developed for the tradition of producing rhum agricole. The rums are produced using pure cane juice and methods that respect the environment. The sunny Caribbean climate ensures a high concentration of cane sugar and high-quality maturation. White, aged and amber rums are also produced here, as well as various liqueurs.

Rhum Rhum Liberation 2015, found here in an under-cask strength version, was the brand’’s third release, after 2010 and 2012. The vintage refers to the year the rum was liberated, i.e. bottled, rather than the year of distillation. It is a rhum agricole distilled in a bain-marie pot still and aged in wine and bourbon casks, and the fruit of a collaboration between Giani Capovilla—a grappa and brandy distiller—and Luca Gargano—the owner of the Genoese independent bottler Velier. Velier was founded in Genoa by Casimir Chaix in 1947. It was originally a small, family-run business specializing in the import and distribution of wine and spirits. Luca Gargano, a former representative for Saint James and serious rum collector and enthusiast, bought the business in 1986 and began bottling whisky first in 1992 and then rum in 1996. Rums selected by Velier are only ever aged in a tropical climate, which explains both their concentration and the high angels’’ share. They are generally bottled at cask strength or just below. Its selections from Diamond’’s vaults, the Caroni bottlings and the bottlings from various distilleries in Jamaica, Barbados and other countries are key to rum’’s history and are today some of the most sought-after in the category.