Spirit tourism is an area that can be explored in Barbados, says Alexandre Gabriel, owner and Master Blender of the West Indies Rum Distillery and Maison Ferrand.
Speaking yesterday at the Stades’ Visitor Centre in Brighton, St Michael, for the international launch of Cut & Dry Coconut Rum under the newly branded Planteray label, Gabriel said it was an area in tourism which had done well for some countries. He noted that in Scotland, for example, approximately two million people travel there to visit distilleries.
He said he believed this concept would work in Barbados, especially if the distilleries got together and invite people to the country and show them the operations of making rum.
“This is culture, plus we have a beautiful country and weather,” he said.
Explaining the new label, he said it combined “Plant” and “Ray” as he referred to the country’s rays of sunlight.
He said that the previous label, Plantation Rum, was the interpretation of Plantacion, the French word for farm, which he said evoked memories of his childhood living on a farm.
He noted that bottles carrying the former name would be phased out over time Gabriel said the new coconut rum would also be made available on the global market. He said the distillery projected 10 000 to 26 000 bottles would be exported in 2024, noting he hoped to double that number in 2025.
To meet the supply and demand for the coconuts needed to make the rum, Gabriel said the distillery had partnered with local farmers. They have collaborated with the Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute, and the United Nations to work with other farmers across the Caribbean.
“Our partnership with our local coconut farmers promotes Barbados as a hub for premium craft products as well as celebrate our rich heritage,” said Andrew Hassell, managing director at the distillery.
Gabriel said the process would go step by step, adding they would observe the patience required to produce a premium, quality product.
“We know that the tree, when it starts to produce coconuts, it’s 50 coconuts a day. As it grows to full maturity it’s 200 coconuts, so next time you see a coconut tree imagine 200 bottles hanging off of it.
“We’re going to ramp that up, but there’s no rush. We want to do it right, it will go step by step. It’s like when we made the XO, it’s a super old rum. You can’t speed that up, that’s why it’s mellow and delicious so we’re going to see this through,” Gabriel said.
He said this brand of rum was conceived by the blenders at the distillery after several attempts at producing a fusion of Barbadian rum and coconut flavours.
