La belle histoire
Guadeloupe
When Christopher Columbus landed on Guadeloupe for the first time on November 3, 1493 he gave the name to the islands and was a reminder of the Virgin of Guadeloupe Monastery built in the self-governing Spanish community of Extremadura.
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Guadeloupe has known very rough times and especially with the oppression of the indigenous people during the era of slavery. History is not only about highlighting the bright and positive parts, as the most noticeable and durable elements are created in the dark times. For example, on Guadeloupe bananas and sugarcane are the most grown crops and without the “Planteurs” (cultivators of the land) the sugarcane production would not have been a main product and the name Planteur would never have transitioned in to the name for this delicious drink which has been there throughout the centuries.
The Mystery of the origins
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Firstly, the term Planteur dates back to the 16th century where it would refer to the colonists who would cultivate the lands in the West-Indies, Reunion, Madagascar, Guadeloupe and so on.
Looking back in history it appears that the drink “Le Planteur” was created in 1835, yet, there are 2 versions.
The first version tells the story of a Jamaican wife of a Planteur who invented a refreshing drink for the people working on the sugarcane plantations. This recipe was then picked up by Fred Myers to inaugurate his distillery on Jamaica called “Myers Rum” in 1879.
The second version surrounds a rumour that the slaves working on the plantations drank pure rum to get through the day. The Planteurs themselves preferred refreshing fruit drinks (hence the term), throw some rum in the mix et voila! The joke of the day back then was who did not drink ti-punch* drank a Planteur.
* "Ti-Punch : a drink which contain white rum, a slice of lime and brown sugar that you should mix by your self with a spoon"
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So yeah, it’s difficult to estimate the exact date or year even when this drink came to be in this combination. What we do know is that the West-Indies were the first to adopted Planteur as one of their traditional cocktails. As the people here also cultivated sugarcane it makes a lot of sense that this was incorporated in their traditional cocktail menu and make it their own.
The history might be a mystery but the flavour speaks for itself, the base of Planteur consist of juices, fruits, spices and .. drumroll .. Rhum.
"Knowing all this, there’s nothing stopping us making this our own!"
From past to present..
We just took you through the origins of Le Planteur, now let’s meet UniK. UniK is a concept thought of by Yohann Jullien, who took the pride from his home country Guadeloupe and made it his own .. He figured out the variety and possibilities of this cocktail and get his message and flavour pallet to the public.
By adding an original touch to each flavour, we aim to make this a beloved drink in any restaurant, bar and household. Challenging people’s tastes and experiences, by employing the UniK concept you can elevate any party, dinner, night out or night in.
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Click here to learn more about our flavours
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