 | |
| Distributor | La Martiniquaise |
|---|---|
| Origin | Caribbean (French islands) Martinique and Guadeloupe |
| Introduced | 1800s |
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.
Negrita was first blended and labeled by the Bardinet Company of France in the mid-1800s. [1] It was founded by Paul Bardinet who was a young producer of liqueurs in the French commune of Limoges. He experimented with different blends of tafia to create the new rum. [2] 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. [2]
Bardinet's son, Edouard Bardinet, moved the operations to Bordeaux in 1895. He added whiskey and brandies to the company portfolio, with Negrita staying as the symbol of the Bardinet Company. [2]
In 1993, the company became part of La Martiniquaise. [2]
By 1994, Negrita was the flagship brand of dark rum, accounting for 41% of grocery sales in Europe. [3]
Negrita is a blended rum which is distilled on the French islands of Réunion, Guadeloupe, and Martinique. [1] It is made from a blend of mollasses rhums and rhum agricoles (pure sugar cane rhums). [4]