AS BAJAN AS FLYING FISH – Rum-running in his blood

My name is Frank Ward and I’m the managing director of a rum distillery reputed to be the oldest in the world. I was born in the old General Hospital in Bridgetown but I’ve spent a good part of my life outside Barbados. Shortly after I was born, my mother, who is from St Vincent, took us there. We spent four or five years there. I remember it as an idyllic existence.    We lived in St Lucy for a year. Then we moved to Christ Church. I lived there until I left to go to university.     Harrison College was modelled on an English public school. It was not co-ed. One of our core subjects was Latin. We had a quadrangle, a tuck shop, half and full colours for sports. The masters’ room was even called, “the Retreat”! Just like in the Billy Bunter books, which we had in the school library!  I started doing engineering at UWI, St Augustine, but didn’t like it much, and switched to natural sciences.    I have a BSc in chemistry & botany, an MSc and a PhD in toxicology from Surrey, and an LLB from the University of London. Although, I’m not a practising attorney.  I don’t go to church or practise any religion. But I do believe one must make time in one’s life for something other than the material.  My family has been involved in the rum industry since the early 1900s. I’m the fourth-generation directly involved.     Toxicology is the science of poisons. I went from poisons to rum in a roundabout way. I’d always had an interest in rum – it’s in the blood, so to speak – and did a three-month stint in a rum distillery lab in Trinidad as part of my final year at St Augustine.    The only reason I left the United Kingdom is I just got tired of the weather. And I was burnt out spending all my time in the lab; it was no longer fun.     My PhD supervisor shaped my outlook on life. She always said, “If you’ve discovered something new in your field and it’s not the accepted wisdom, never believe you are wrong. Let other people prove you wrong.” That is one of my guiding principles.    I don’t think there is a danger in my job, of getting to like rum too much. I will say that I think rum is the best spirits drink in the world. I absolutely adore the thing! It’s just a matter of being sensible about it.  I read the Economist, National Geographic and law books.  I like black-and-white photographs. When you’re not distracted by colour, you can zero in on the essence of what you’re looking at. I collect them but I don’t take them. I would like to do it properly, develop my own photographs using wet chemicals.     I generally get into the office around 8 a.m. and leave around 6 or 7 p.m. I also work at night, because I’m also chairman of a rum and spirits association, which requires a significant amount of time. I have a very forgiving, long-suffering wife, Lizette, from St Lucia. Lucian women are very beautiful. We never had children. It’s just one of those things that never worked out. It makes it easier to work long hours but I suppose there will be a price to pay later on.      Work should be one of many things that make up your life, not the main focus of one’s life.     I keep fit by gardening. It gives you quite a workout. Sometimes you work like a field hand with a fork.  I won’t miss Trinidad Carnival. I go every year.      Most of my plants I have in pots. I import them. So you could say they’re not the common or garden variety. I wear brightly coloured socks. For the most part, my style of dress is monochromatic, black-and-white.      My dog, Dee Dee, is about 13 years old. I named her after a sister of mine, Deidre, who, unfortunately, passed away two years ago. I brought her from St Lucia with me. I brought two, actually; Dee Dee’s brother died.     Dee Dee likes to be in the office with me. Around midday, when the staff go on lunch, she wants to get outside. Food is in the offing.      I live on the distillery compound. So it takes me about 30 seconds to get to work. It also facilitates the long days in the office.  A rum distillery managing director’s main purpose is to produce a product of acceptable quality in the required volumes for our customers. I also seem to be the chief marketing officer so I travel to build brands.   Business travel is no fun. You don’t get to enjoy the place you’re in. You see the airport, the hotel and your meeting room and that’s it!      I like my rum with water but I’ll drink most brands with ginger ale. Some lime, too. It goes well. I say that from a taste perspective, not a chemical one. The only issue is the combination of rum with something sweet tends to get you a little tight.     The best thing about the job is seeing the product you’ve developed on the shelves and having people say they really like it. We’re transisting from the old way of doing things to a more efficient production while retaining the essential traditional character of what we’re making. It’s a difficult balancing act. The satisfying thing is looking back and seeing what you’ve done; the bad thing is having to do it at the time.     A Bajan is someone who has pride in himself and his country.  Barbados is one of my homes. I consider the Caribbean my home. Barbados has special connotations because I was actually born here.  You know exactly what you’re going to get and I appreciate that.