About LEGBA
LEGBA was born in a greenhouse in the Jura, at Francheville, in the middle of an ethnobotanical garden. Before the bottles, there were the plants: the ones we grow, the ones we search for, the ones whose uses we are learning about. Our infused rums, teas and infusions are what this garden ended up producing.
It all started with the garden
Ethnobotany studies the relationship between people and plants: what we do with them, what we say about them, what has been attributed to them over the centuries. It is where LEGBA started, and it has remained the common thread of everything we offer.
The greenhouse is home to rare plants, aromatic and edible plants, plants with traditional uses and ritual plants, the ones that folklore has placed on the side of witches and shamans. We also offer seeds so you can grow them yourself, and dried herbs for those that are consumed.
Processing came next, almost naturally: when you spend your days among plants, you end up wanting to draw something out of them.
Why we say infused, not arranged
This is not a matter of fancy vocabulary. They are two different processes.
An arranged rum macerates with sugar, for a long time. Sugar rounds off, softens, masks. It forgives a lot, including an average raw material.
Our process is not a maceration. It is an infusion technique that we developed ourselves and do not disclose: it is precisely what sets our bottles apart from the rest of the shelf. It owes nothing to maceration with sugar, and leaves nowhere to hide: the fruit has to stand on its own.
The base matters as much as the infusion. We start from agricultural rums chosen for their structure: a rum that is too neutral gets wiped out by the fruit, a rum that is too pronounced crushes it. That is why Le Mangomancien is based on a rum from Guadeloupe: it has the vegetal character needed to stand up to six fruits.
The result is not a bottle for sweet cocktails. It is a sipping bottle, to be drunk neat, chilled or over an ice cube, with a finish you can feel on the palate.
A point of vocabulary, and of law
On our labels and product pages, you will read the term spirit drink. This is the legal name set by European Regulation 2019/787: there, the word rum refers to a specific category that does not allow the addition of fruit or plants. Our bottles do start from an agricultural rum, and the compound term that says so, for example rum - mango, appears on every product page.
In other words, what we call an infused rum among ourselves is legally a rum-based spirit drink. The product does not change, the way of naming it is simply accurate.
What we grow, what we select
Let us be clear: mango, pineapple and papaya do not grow in the Jura. Claiming otherwise would be absurd.
At the greenhouse we grow the plants our climate allows: aromatic plants, plants with traditional uses, ritual plants, botanical curiosities. For everything else, and in particular the tropical fruit in our infusions, we select. The work then shifts from growing to choosing: the variety, the ripeness, the way the fruit will behave in the spirit.
This distinction is at the heart of the way we work. We do not sell a geographical origin, we sell a method and a selection.
Where the name LEGBA comes from
Legba is the loa who opens the doors. In Vodou, he stands at the crossroads, between the world of the living and the world of the spirits, and he is the one you address first: without him, no door opens.
The name felt right for a project born of ethnobotany, the discipline concerned precisely with what plants open up in those who use them. It also explains the names of our bottles: Valse Vaudou, Maléfice, Rictus, Le Démon, Grillon Lubrique. Each one has a character, and the label tells it before the very first sip.
It is a world we fully embrace, but there is nothing exclusive about it. You do not need to know the Vodou pantheon to enjoy a morello cherry infusion.
Who we are
There are two of us, Cyril and Ann. There is no factory behind LEGBA, and no marketing team: the greenhouse, the infusions, the labels, the shipping and the markets, that is us.
Being this small has its limits, and we know them. It also has an advantage we do not want to lose: every bottle has passed through our hands, and we can say exactly what is in it and why.
Come and see us
The best place to understand LEGBA is still the greenhouse. We welcome visitors there by appointment for direct sales, and we host private tastings for groups of 5 to 9 people, served with aperitif platters.
Our products are also available from several partners in the Jura and Côte-d'Or, and at markets and events in the region. All the addresses and upcoming dates are on the Where to find us page.
Frequently asked questions
What is an ethnobotanical garden?
It is a garden organised around the uses of plants rather than their appearance alone. It brings together rare, ritual, aromatic or traditionally used species, gathered for what human cultures have done with them. It is where LEGBA started.
Infused rum and arranged rum: what is the real difference?
The process. An arranged rum relies on a long maceration with sugar. Our bottles rely on an infusion technique we developed ourselves, which is nothing like a maceration. They are not two names for the same thing.
What exactly is in your bottles?
The composition is listed on each product page, ingredient by ingredient: the agricultural rum base, then the fruits and plants in the recipe. So you can see exactly what goes into the bottle, without having to take our word for it.
Why does the label say spirit drink and not rum?
Because that is the corresponding legal name. European Regulation 2019/787 reserves the word rum for a category that does not allow the addition of fruit or plants. The base is still an agricultural rum, and the compound term states this on every product page.
Where are your bottles made?
At the greenhouse, in Francheville in the Jura (39230). The infusion, preparation and bottling are done there by the two of us.
Do you grow everything you use?
No, and we would rather say so. We grow the plants that the Jura climate allows. The tropical fruit in our infusions is selected from suppliers, for variety and ripeness.
Can I visit the greenhouse?
Yes, by appointment only, about twenty minutes from Lons-le-Saunier. Write to us at contact@legba.fr to arrange a time slot.
What does LEGBA mean?
Legba is the Vodou loa who opens the doors and stands at the crossroads. The name echoes ethnobotany, which studies what plants open up in those who use them.
Explore the range
Our rum-based infusions, our teas and infusions, our natural incense and our rare plants are available online, shipped from Franche-Comté. A question about a product or its composition? Write to us, we are the ones who answer.
Alcohol abuse is dangerous for your health. Please drink responsibly. Sale to persons under 18 is prohibited.