Barbados is justifiably well-known in as we speak’s rum world. As soon as a British colony, the island is steeped in rum historical past and drawing worldwide popularity of its distillers, blenders, and new rum releases. Following within the footsteps of my well-liked Ten Issues to Know About Jamaican Rum article, let’s have a look at some attention-grabbing but lesser-known elements of Barbados Rum.
1) Barbados is the Birthplace of Rum (Or is it?)
Many histories of rum observe that the primary distilled spirit identified as we speak as rum was made in Barbados. Richard Ligon, an English writer, and half-owner of a Barbados plantation, lived on the island between 1647 and 1650. In his 1657 e-book, he writes: [i]
…convey the skimmings of the three lesser Coppers, all the way down to the Nonetheless-house, whereof the sturdy Spirit is made, which they name kill-devill…
Nevertheless, Barbados could not have been the primary cane spirit within the new world. Different historians observe that cane spirits have been distilled in what’s now in Brazil as early as 1532. Moreover, it’s believed that Peter Blower, a Dutch dealer from Brazil, introduced sugarcane cultivation to Barbados in 1637.
However wait, there’s extra! Historian Marco Pierini supplies compelling proof that the primary Caribbean rum was made on St. Kitts and/or Martinique, presumably predating Barbados by just a few years.
2) Mount Homosexual – Oldest Repeatedly Working Distillery
Based mostly on historic paperwork, the Mount Homosexual model says that rum making has occurred on the Mount Homosexual website since 1703. This makes Mount Homosexual the repeatedly working rum distillery wherever, predating even Appleton Property (1749) and St. James (1765).
In an attention-grabbing twist, Mount Homosexual was initially named Mount Gilboa. The Mount Gilboa title would re-emerge a few years later.
In one other attention-grabbing twist, the primary branded Mount Homosexual rum didn’t seem till the early 20th century. Nevertheless, that also makes Mount Homosexual one of many oldest manufacturers immediately related to a selected distillery.
3) West India Rum Refinery – A New Kind of Distillery
As elsewhere within the Caribbean, most rum making within the 1800s was carried out on sugar estates with a small related distillery utilizing waste from the sugar mill. By the late 1800s, most estates discovered it arduous to stay worthwhile; many stopped working or have been subsumed into different estates. The way forward for Barbadian rum was in peril.
In 1893, George Stade and his brother constructed the primary large-scale “fashionable” distillery, making rum from bought molasses. It was additionally the primary time column distillation was used to make rum on Barbados. In brief order, the distillery started making extra rum than all different distilleries on Barbados mixed. Nevertheless, it had no rum model to name its personal for practically 130 years.
At present we all know the West India Rum Refinery because the West Indies Rum Distillery.
4) Distilleries Prohibited from Promoting Rum
Within the early 1900s, a Barbadian legislation prevented distilleries from promoting rums in portions of lower than 10 gallons, successfully stopping them from promoting on to shoppers. As a substitute, distilleries just like the West India Rum Refinery sometimes bought unaged rum to retailers who then aged, blended, and bottled the rum on the market to shoppers.
A few of these service provider names nonetheless stay on as we speak as model names, together with Doorly’s (Martin Doorly), E.S.A. Discipline, Alleyne Arthur, John D. Taylor, and R.L. Seale.
5) A Communal Distillery
Sadly for George Stade (see above), the West India Rum Refinery went bankrupt in 1901. To exit chapter, the distillery bought possession shares and have become a publicly held firm.
In lots of instances, retailers shopping for rum from the distillery additionally bought its shares, making them each clients and part-owners of the West India Rum Refinery. Thus, the distillery was primarily a shared “co-op” useful resource utilized by Barbados rum manufacturers for a few years.
6) Barbados Rum of the Previous
At present, Barbados rum is famend for its purity and lack of flavorings. Nevertheless, up to now, many Barbados retailers flavored their rum earlier than sale. In 1937, Peter Valaer, a chemist for the U.S. Treasury, wrote a really detailed evaluation of rums from the US and different nations.[ii] In his description of Barbados rums, he notes:
The molasses spirits are often distilled with lime and soda, usually within the presence of vegetable roots, coconut shells, and different substances…. The evaluation of true Barbados rum shouldn’t be proven, however a components of well-known manufacturers consists of a mix of distilled molasses spirit various in proof from 145° to 190°, sherry, Madeira or different wines, usually spirits of niter, bitter almonds, and raisins.
Overseas and Home Rum, 1937
It’s vital additionally to notice that such practices have been commonplace elsewhere within the Caribbean and with spirits aside from rum. Fortunately, there are numerous rum makers as we speak promoting rum freed from flavorings.
7) 4 Distilleries
At present, there are 4 distilleries on Barbados:
- Mount Homosexual
- West Indies Rum Distillery
- Foursquare Rum Distillery
- St. Nicholas Abbey
Mount Homosexual is the oldest of the 4, whereas St. Nicholas Abbey, housed in a fantastically restored Barbados property, is the youngest, beginning operations in 2006.
By way of distillation output, West India Rum Distillery is the biggest, distilling over 80 p.c of the island’s rum. St. Nicholas Abbey is the smallest, distilling lower than 1 p.c of the island’s rum yearly.
As for Mount Homosexual and Foursquare, they’re roughly equal in distillation capability and amount of casks present process ageing. Each have over 40,000 casks, making them the biggest holders of aged rum on the island.
8) Signature Fashion
Whereas every Barbados distillery has a number of pot/batch stills, if one needed to pin down as we speak’s signature Barbadian fashion, most consultants would observe that it’s an expertly aged mix of pot and column distilled rum. Column-distilled is often nearly all of such blends.
9) House of WIRSPA
Along with its 4 rum distilleries, Barbados can be the house to WIRSPA, extra formally often known as the West Indies Rum and Spirits Producers Affiliation. WIRSPA’s 14 members are rum-making nations from across the Caribbean, together with Jamaica, Barbados, Trinidad, Guyana, St. Lucia, Belize, Haiti, and lots of extra.
WIRSPA’s member nations and their distilleries work on areas of widespread curiosity regarding Caribbean rum, together with commerce advocacy, technical info sharing, and class training. The Genuine Caribbean Rum Marque is considered one of WIRSPA’s signature packages.
Though WIRSPA members usually meet at numerous Caribbean locales, the group’s day-to-day operations are carried out at WIRSPA’s Barbados workplace.
[Disclosure, I am WIRSPA’s Community Envoy, facilitating information sharing between rum enthusiasts and rum makers. Among my projects are the Rum Talk series and Icon Series.]
10) Foursquare’s Worldwide Acclaim
Based in 1996, Foursquare Rum Distillery has obtained monumental worldwide acclaim and numerous awards in the previous couple of years. Beforehand a service provider blender (see merchandise 4 above), Sir David Seale and his son Richard Seale constructed and began distilling on the Foursquare Rum distillery in 1996.
Since then, Richard has gained a number of awards for himself, the distillery, and its rums, together with the Distinctive Cask Collection. Current awards embrace:
- Worldwide Spirits Problem (ISC) Rum Producer of the 12 months (2016-2019)
- Worldwide Spirits Problem (ISC) Rum & Cane Spirits Producer of the 12 months (2020)
- Worldwide Spirits Problem (ISC) Supreme Champion, 2021 (Redoubtable 14 12 months)
- Worldwide Spirits Problem (ISC) Grasp Blender of the 12 months (Richard Seale)
- Worldwide Wine & Spirit Competitors (IWSC): Rum Producer of the 12 months (2016, 2018)
- Worldwide Wine & Spirit Competitors (IWSC): Rum Trophy 2016, 2020 (Foursquare 2006, Foursquare 2008)
These are on prime of numerous gold and double gold medals for Foursquare-made rum, beneath its personal manufacturers (Foursquare, Doorly’s), and associate manufacturers like The Actual McCoy and Rum Sixty Six.
For you bourbon lovers, Foursquare has even been known as the “Pappy of Rum.” Excessive reward certainly!
Wish to learn extra about Barbadian rum? Take a look at my collected writings right here.
[i] Ligon, Richard, A True and Precise Historical past of the Island of Barbadoes, 1657
[ii] Valaer, Peter, Overseas and Home Rum, Alcohol Tax Unit, U.S. Treasury Division, 1937
