7184: RE: 7177: Re: 7138: 15 year old Barbancourt, Reserv du , Domain (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Joel Dreyfuss <jdreyfuss@attglobal.net>

Somebody is making out like a bandit on the distribution of Haitian Rum --
if those high prices are typical. It's interesting to hear that the Gardere
family is cranking up production. There's an old story about USAID officials
telling that the Garderes that they had a great rum and could easily double
their export business. The U.S. offered financial assistance to expand the
plant. The Garderes said no, according to the tale. "That would be too much
work."

Fortunately, most Haitians never have to pay the high prices of U.S. liquor
stores. Barbancourt is one of those gray market products. Most of the
Haitian rum consumed here is probably carried by hand from Haiti. I once had
to meet someone arriving from Haiti at New York's JFK Airport. I asked
someone in the waiting crowd if the Haiti flight had arrived. He said, "You
can't miss it. You'll know when you start seeing those yellow Barbancourt
boxes." Sure enough, there soon came a parade of Haitians with nearly
everyone carrying a box of five bottles. Most of it is "omiyage," what
Japanese call the gifts they give to friends and family on returning from
travel.