Chairman’s Reserve Spiced Rum

St Lucia Distillers was founded in 1972 and is based in the valley of Roseau on the island of St Lucia. In the 1950s, only two distilleries remained on the island, Dennery on the Barnard family plantation, and the Geest-owned facility at Roseau. These two distilleries combined to form St. Lucia Distillers Group at the location of Roseau in 1972, and it is now the island’s only remaining distillery. The Barnard family then bought out the Geest’s shares in 1992, and in 2005 they sold their shareholdings to Clico Barbados Holdings, though Laurie Barnard stayed on as Managing Director. In May 2007 the distillery suffered an arson attack, which destroyed the laboratory and blending building, and the brand was forced to work from a converted warehouse for years after.

The distillery now sources its sugar cane from Guyana, as banana plantations have replaced sugar plantations on St Lucia. However, the distillery recently planted five acres of sugar cane on site.

Chairman’s Spiced Rum begins with the original Chairman’s Reserveblend of aged Coffey and pot still rums steeped with “Bois Band” a local Caribbean bark culturally known for its aphrodisiac qualities. Added to the rum are local spices and fruits such as cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, vanilla, allspice, lemon and orange peels. It is aged separately by batch and by type of still in ex-Bourbon barrels, then blended and rested in oak vats for an additional six months. Local fruits and spices are added over the final six months of finishing.

Tasting Notes

Deep mahogany colour with a supple red hue. An expressive aroma of bitter orange, nutmeg, cinnamon, and sweet raisin lead to a sweet and rich mouthfeel bursting with exotic spices, and balanced with crisp citrus character. An epicurean and complex spiced rum.