The West Indies Rum Distillery (WIRD) is located in Blackrock,
Barbados
Barbados, officially the Republic of Barbados, is an island country in the Atlantic Ocean. It is part of the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies and the easternmost island of the Caribbean region. It lies on the boundary of the South American ...
, and was established in 1893 by George Stade. The distillery produces its own rum brands, as well as rum for other brands.
History
The West India Rum Refinery was built by the distiller George Stade in 1893. It was the island's first
column still
A column still, also called a continuous still, patent still or Coffey still, is a variety of still consisting of two columns. Column stills can produce rectified spirit (95% alcohol by volume, ABV).
Description
The first column (called the ana ...
, and was erected on the beach, away from sugar cane plantations, a unique configuration at the time. Its initial purpose was to distill sugar cane for local rum producers. It became a public company in 1901.
The West India Rum Refinery produced the rum
Cockspur since its launch in the early 20th century. In 1939 (or 1965
), Goddard Enterprises Limited (GEL, also owner of Cockspur) bought a participation in West India Rum Refinery Limited, and turned it into a controlling stake (88%
) in 1989.
It was renamed West Indies Rum Distillery in 1994, and
Malibu became its largest customer during the 1990s.
Maison Ferrand
Maison Ferrand () is an independent French company specialized in the production and distribution of spirits worldwide. The company's products include cognac (Cognac Ferrand), rum (Planteray) and gin ( Citadelle). The company's foundation is ro ...
had been a client of the West Indies Rum Distillery since the early 2000s, sourcing rum for its Plantation brand (double-aged in France). In 2017, Maison Ferrand acquired the West Indies Rum Distillery and its one-third ownership of National Rums of Jamaica.
In 2021, the distillery launched its own brand of rum, Stade's Rum. The WIRD opened the Harper Sugarcane Mill dedicated to sugarcane and rum research in 2022, and worked with the
Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute
The Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute (CARDI) carries out research and development for agriculture in the Caribbean region. Its headquarters are on the campus of the University of the West Indies (UWI), at St. Augustine in T ...
(CARDI) to launch a coconut-flavored rum using only Barbados-grown coconuts.
Description
The West Indies Rum Distillery is a rum distillery located in Blackrock, Barbados, and owned by Maison Ferrand. The WIRD also owns 33.3% of National Rums of Jamaica (Clarendon and Long Pond distilleries), and produces around 85% of Barbados' rum.
The distillery has four pot stills, including the Rockley which was built in 1780 and reconditioned in 2023.
The master blender is Don Benn.
See also
*
List of rum brands
Rum is distilled in a wide variety of locations by a number of different producers. Below is a list of rum brands and distillers organized by location of the distiller.
Africa
Democratic Republic of Congo
*Kwilu Rum
Kenya
*Safari Rum
La R� ...
*
List of companies of Barbados
Barbados is a sovereign island country in the Lesser Antilles, in the Caribbean. Despite being classified as an Atlantic island, Barbados is considered to be a part of the Caribbean, where it is ranked as a leading tourist destination. Forty perc ...
References
{{Alcoholic beverages
1893 establishments in Barbados
Food and drink companies established in 1893
Rum produced in Barbados
Drink companies of Barbados
Sugar industry of Barbados
Distilleries