Born in Paris to a Guadeloupean mother and Martinican-French Guyanese father, rum isn't just a business for Brussels based David Van Hijfte — it's his heritage.
Growing up between Guadeloupe, Belgium, Canada, and France, he carried the memories of his great-grandfather playing dominoes with a glass of agricole rum nearby, the essence of Caribbean tradition flowing through the family gatherings.
After serving in the French army at 18, Van Hijfte became a self-made entrepreneur, spending 12 years in evening school while working across sales, legal, accounting, and finance.
"My studies at Hogeschool Gent, KUL Leuven, and Solvay Brussels in business and taxation gave me the foundation, but my passion gave me the purpose," he says.
"I started testing this dream in 2015 — events, restaurants, learning the market. By October 2019, I knew this wasn't just an opportunity; it was my calling. When I see rum, I see generations of artisans perfecting their craft, I see my great-grandfather's stories, I see the soul of the Caribbean islands that shaped me.
"This work combines everything I love: solving problems, sharing knowledge, discovering new expressions directly from distilleries, and taking calculated risks. For me, it's not work — it's preserving and sharing a legacy," he shares passionately.
From idea to implementation
Since childhood, Van Hijfte had the desire to be an entrepreneur and was drawn to the culture, politics, and economy of his French Caribbean roots.
"I felt I had to link entrepreneurship with my heritage. I realized we have exceptional products and remarkable craftsmanship with beautiful know-how — there's more to offer than just the stunning Caribbean nature."
However, there's a challenge for local entrepreneurs: the market size is too small. Guadeloupe has a population of around 385,000 inhabitants. "The solution was clear: export. I wanted to relieve local entrepreneurs of export burdens while offering new market perspectives."
"This vision fulfills me because it combines the different cultures within me. On one hand, I can help solve a problem, and on the other, I can share a piece of my culture and traditions linked to our products with Belgian, Dutch, and Luxembourg consumers," he says.
The biggest challenge was choosing a product and gaining expertise in it.
"Some say that when you believe in something, it will happen. I had many ideas, but there was always a detail blocking progress — until I went to a bar and asked for a good rum. They served me a very commercial rum. I told the bartender that the next day I would bring him a good rum."
"I brought a rum from Montebello distillery that I had in my personal collection. He asked if I could get more of it. At that moment, I realized everything made sense — I was raised with rum from Guadeloupe and Martinique and was already building a personal collection. That's when my adventure began."
It's all about flavors and passion
"What I've learned from entrepreneurship is that it's constant personal development requiring flexibility and adaptation while offering growth. When I started, I regularly visited distilleries in Guadeloupe, attending workshops to understand every detail of their know-how."
Through this learning process, Van Hijfte understood why he loved cooking so much.
"I discovered I'm passionate about flavours. The process of creating aromas in premium spirits is incredibly diverse and fascinating. My expertise in aromatics was recognised when I was selected as a jury member for the Spirit Selection by CMB. I felt honoured by their selection, as I consider it one of the most accurate and professional spirits juries in the world."
The Particularity of Guadeloupean and Martinican Rums
Rum is made from sugar cane but uses two different raw materials as the base for distillation:
- Molasses - derived from sugar cane production residue. This represents 97% of the market and is the base for most commercial rums.
- Pure Juice - rum obtained by distilling the juice of the sugar cane plant. This represents only 3% of the market.
In the French West Indies (Guadeloupe and Martinique), most distilleries distill from the plant's juice and are controlled by specifications we call "Agricole," which protect a production method and guarantee certain quality standards.
"I love pure juice rum because the "terroir" impacts aroma creation. Like in the wine industry, we focus on soil, plant variety, sunlight exposure, and other environmental factors."
The diverse methods of aroma creation during fermentation, distillation, and aging are also governed by the Agricole specifications.
What agricole rum represents for me
Rum plays a significant role in French West Indies culture. From a historical perspective, Martinique was once the world's biggest rum producer, and Guadeloupe had more than a hundred distilleries. "This shaped our work culture and gave birth to many traditions."
From a drinking perspective, rum is more than something you consume for festivities. A good rum is something you don't just drink — you cherish it by sipping very slowly. One particularity of agricole rum is that it reveals its flavor in the aftertaste.
"For me, taking a glass with maximum 2cl of rum, sipping carefully to let the aftertaste express its aromatic complexity, and trying to identify the flavours is definitely one of my favorite pastimes," Van Hijfte says.
The goal
"As an importer, distributor, and independent bottler, I aim to grow knowledge of agricole and pure juice rum in the Benelux market and hope the market will become more premium-focused.
"Unfortunately, it happens too often that I visit an excellent restaurant and am amazed by the whisky and wine collection but disappointed by the rum selection. I hope I can help improve this situation.
"As an independent bottler, I'll continue seeking and bottling rarities under my brand David's Rum Selection."
Van Hijfte is excited on what the future holds for his entrepreneurship connecting Guadeloupe, Martinique and Belgium.
"I'll also continue developing my blending experience in partnership with The BoozeHounds. We've created a brand called Unique, which results from blending different spirits to obtain unique flavors and distinctive aftertaste expressions."
